


The Shadows Grow Longer

by L_Y



Series: Stars and Shadows [2]
Category: Amber Liu - Fandom, DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, GOT7, JYJ (Band), SHINee, Super Junior, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Age Difference, Age Swap, Aged-Up Character(s), Anal Sex, Biting, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Blood and Gore, Bottom Kim Junsu (JYJ), Bottom Min Yoongi | Suga, Fluff, Gangs, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kim Jaejoong Is Bad At Feelings, Kim Junsu (JYJ) is a Sweetheart, M/M, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Whipped, Morally Ambiguous Character, Murder, Oral Sex, Original Character Death(s), Past Underage, Past friends with benefits, Smut, Top Kim Junsu (JYJ), Top Min Yoongi | Suga, Torture, VMinKook is a side couple, Vampire Hunters, Vampire!Junsu, Vampire!Taehyung, Vampires, depressed character, everyone else is human, explicit sex scenes only between the main pairing, mild d/s dynamics, vampire!Jaejoong, vampire!taemin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:01:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 65,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26621800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_Y/pseuds/L_Y
Summary: Yoongi is rather enjoying his new job in a bookstore… if only Taehyung, his eccentric boss, kept his nose out of Yoongi’s personal life. No, he is NOT missing Junsu, thank you very much.But then Taehyung gets kidnapped and Yoongi finds himself in a world of gangsters and vampire hunters. Will he find Taehyung alive? Who can he trust? And, most important, what is going on between him and Junsu?This fic is a sequel to “Golden Star”.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Kim Junsu (JYJ)/Min Yoongi | Suga
Series: Stars and Shadows [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936639
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. The Visitors

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a sequel to “Golden Star”, because my JYJ bias and BTS bias decided that only one fic about them was not enough. Can be read as a standalone, but some things may be confusing if you are not familiar with the first part. The action takes place for little more than a month after “Golden Star”, at the beginning of December 2017.  
> Also, my very first gang AU. I did my research and tried to achieve some level of authenticity, but I’m fairly sure the overall result is strongly romanticised and dolled up, compared to the real life. On the other hand, most of you are probably here for the smut anyway, so I won’t worry too much. XD  
> Important note to VMinKook fans – they are a side couple. The only explicit sex scenes (in chapters 5 and 8) are between the main pairing, Junsu and Yoongi.
> 
> Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated. Also, because English is not my first language, feel free to point out any grammar mistakes.

Yoongi gazed at the merrily crackling fire and sighed.

“Missing him, huh?”

“What the fuck?” the man snapped, glaring at his vampire companion. Taehyung was lazing on the couch away from the big fireplace, curled up gracefully and looking at Yoongi from the dark corner like a sly cat. His eyes were gleaming a little in the shadows and he wore his trademark boxy grin. The vampire’s pale skin contrasted nicely with his red- and blue-striped sweater. Yoongi had not seen this particular one before, but he had a looming suspicion the brand was Gucci. Again.

“Oh, I see,” the other smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I don’t even have to say his name and you are already thinking about fucking him. Or about him fucking you? Alas, I don’t have any personal experience with that, but he totally seems the type to…”

“Taehyung, what the fuck again?” Yoongi sighed exasperatedly. “I’m not thinking about anything like that. I’m just trying to have some peace and quiet.”

Taehyung pouted. “Hey, you grumpy turtle! Is this a way to talk to your boss? Besides, you don’t know how many years, decades or centuries I’m older than you.”

“You look like a teenager,” Yoongi retorted, “and act like a baby. I bet you’re really a couple of years younger than me. That’s why you don’t want to tell me your actual age.”

Taehyung gasped dramatically. “I feed you and clothe you, I accompany and entertain you…”

Yoongi snorted. “Clothe me? Whatever, Gucci boy.”

“I am paying more than a decent money for you to actually go out and buy something that isn’t ten years old or so.” Taehyung sat up straight and pointed at Yoongi with his finger. “Look at that hoodie! When did you get it?”

“A lot more recently than ten years ago.”

“And I even gave you a pay rise,” the other continued, “but still no gratitude from you.”

“I have worked here merely a bit more than a month,” Yoongi remarked. “You have only paid me once. There has been no chance for a rise yet.”

“And wasn’t it generous of me to give you a rise right at your very first payday? I can assure you, the original wage was meant to be a lot smaller.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Taehyung replied cheekily.

“And, by the way, you can’t be centuries old. Junsu is eighty-three and you’ve called him hyung quite a few times.”

“Well,” Taehyung did not let himself to be disturbed, “he looks older than me, that’s all.”

“Hey, I look older than you as well. Where is my honorific?”

“Nope,” the other grinned, “you’re too short.”

“If I weren’t so sleepy I would punch you.”

“Yeah? To my kneecap?”

Yoongi decided not to answer.

It was silent for a moment, only the unceasing rain was splattering against the windows. It had been raining three days. Through the constant drumming and splashing some random car signals were faintly heard, but not a soul raised his foot to the small cross-street. The air was bleak and humid, so Taehyung had carried a lapful of wood to the main room and asked Yoongi to make a fire.

“He may come back soon, you know,” the vampire suddenly said. “I talked to Jaejoong-hyung the other day and he said that Junsu has never been the type to kiss and flee afterwards.”

Yoongi had never seen this Jaejoong guy Taehyung was sometimes talking about. He had met only one friend of the man so far – Jungkook, a surprisingly normal human, or as normal as it was possible to be for people hanging out with Taehyung. But the stories Taehyung sometimes liked to tell had given him a pretty good idea what kind of person Jaejoong could have been: older than Taehyung, obviously, but as odd and funny as the latter himself. However, he did not accept anyone to stick a nose into his personal life, be it even a cunningly weird vampire.

“How do you know there was anything at all?” Yoongi asked sharply.

Taehyung smirked. “I didn’t mention it the day you came here – you looked too cute and shy, didn’t want to scare you off –, but just so you know, vampires have a really good sense of smell… if you get what I mean. Even if Junsu-hyung aired the room afterwards.”

Yoongi blushed furiously at this, but tried to play it cool with a shrug and a grunt for an answer.

“And he brought you here,” Taehyung added with a lot softer voice. “It’s… like one of his sanctuaries, almost. He likes to come here at night, alone, play the piano and sing. Moreover, he told you that he is a vampire. And –” now the vampire was grinning again – “he introduced you to his best, wisest, most beautiful, powerful and trustworthy companion, the almighty Kim Taehyung! Got it?”

Yoongi faked a yawn. “So?”

“It is quite…” Taehyung stopped at mid-sentence. “Oh, we may have some guests soon!”

Yoongi rose from his chair and headed to the door through the labyrinth of bookshelves. Taehyung’s hearing had to be at least as good as his sense of smell – a few moments later the door was thrown open and four men rushed to the shop.

“Evening,” Yoongi lazily greeted, before remembering that he actually had to be polite towards possible customers. Taehyung had already chided his manners more than once. “How can I help you?”

“We’ll just look around for a start,” a gruff voice said, so Yoongi stepped aside, behind the counter, and tried to observe the visitors as discreetly as possible. They all were pretty tall and broad-shouldered, looking like some security guards or bouncers in pub. Yoongi found himself wondering how much an effort would it be for Junsu to take them down. The vampire would brush through the men as wind, all grace and agile movements, kick one of them to the stomach, swirl around, strangle the other and then look straight at Yoongi, his eyes blazing with wild fire, one corner of his mouth curled up in a sinister smirk…

Yoongi silently shook his head. It was freaking weird for him to fantasize about Junsu beating some guys’ asses he had only just met. But he could have bet the other would have looked smoking hot while doing this.

“Hey,” a voice near to him said and Yoongi flinched out of his thoughts. One of the men was leaning to the counter. He really looked like a bouncer. Or like a stereotypical gangster from some low-budget film. The stranger had a few scars scattered over his brow and cheeks and he wore that stupid “I have more muscles than you and your entire family all together and I am bloody aware of this” expression. Yoongi instantly disliked him, but if the man wanted to buy a book, he was welcome of course.

“You’re the owner of this?” the visitor asked, gesturing around him.

“No,” Yoongi replied, “but if you want to find a certain book, I can help you as good as the owner himself.” Or… okay, almost as good, but that was not important.

“I want to see the owner,” the man stated. Those were the worst kind of clients, really.

Yoongi shrugged. “As you wish. He’s sitting by the fireplace, at the back of this room.”

“Was,” Taehyung’s merry voice corrected him. “I’m the owner, sir, and luckily I just happen to be here. Can I help you somehow?” The vampire scrunched his nose and sneezed. “Sorry. An allergy.”

Vampires were allergic to garlic. Yoongi had found out when he had brought garlic potato chips to work and Taehyung had begun sneezing like a crazy as soon as he was near the human. Even the next day he had complained that Yoongi was stinking like a bunch of garlic and it made him dizzy – not in a good way, as he had emphasized. He had nothing against onion, though.

“I’m looking for the original volume of _Collected Works of Cheon Sang-byeong_ ,” the man announced.

“Ah,” Taehyung replied, “the 1996th year version? Let me have a look. You may come with me, sir, poetry is this way.”

He led his customer through the many shelves to somewhere in the middle of the room. Yoongi tagged along – partly because he really needed to learn to orientate in this maze of books, but also because he had nothing better to do.

“Here,” the vampire smiled, pointing at the bookshelf. “It’s on the top, let me just…”

The man abruptly took a small box from his pocket, opened it and threw the contents all over Taehyung’s face. Yoongi watched like in a slow motion as his friend spared a confused glance to the other, rose a hand to wipe his face, but tumbled backwards all of a sudden, coughing and sneezing uncontrollably. Even he, with his human nose, could smell the sharp scent of minced garlic.

“The fuck are you doing?!” Yoongi yelled, but three other men were already there. One of them pushed Yoongi aside as if he was a ragdoll, and two approached Taehyung, who was still hunched over next to the bookshelf, sneezing violently. Even then they did not dare to come too close, but pulled out shining metal sticks and pointed them to Taehyung. Was the situation not so serious, Yoongi would have laughed, because the men looked like some comical Harry Potter imitations with their dark coats, holding sticks as if those were wizard wands. Now he, however, scrambled to get up as quickly as possible, pulled out the heaviest book he could find from the shelf – some rare poetry collection, probably – and punched the nearest man to the nape. His attack was surprisingly effective: the man stumbled and fell, cursing Yoongi loudly.

One of the strangers touched Taehyung with his stick. The vampire jolted as if he had been electrocuted, let out a blood-curdling scream and sprung into action. With one swift move he pulled the man to the floor and punched him in the stomach. But then another attacker threw a handful of minced garlic to him and he began sneezing again. Yoongi rushed to help him, but the stranger he had initially taken down was up again and blocked Yoongi’s way.

“You little bastard!” the man hissed, punching Yoongi to the chest. Yoongi was not a bad fighter. He had had plenty of practice from his quite frequent bar visits which somehow tended to end with a fight more often than not, but this muscle mountain was too much for him. With only a few moves, the stranger had Yoongi lying on the floor, face down and both hands held by wrists. He tried to kick the other, but was repaid with a knee pressing to his lower back. Quick thuds could be heard in the background and then a hollow _crack_ , followed by shout and a litany of obscenities. One of the strangers had probably broken a bone.

“Move once more, you stupid fucker,” the man snarled through clenched teeth, “and I’ll beat the living shit out of you!” As to emphasize the threat, he pushed his knee down onto Yoongi’s back until the latter cried out of pain. Only a second later Taehyung’s frantic screams cut through the air. And then there was complete silence.

“Look, you bastard!”

Yoongi’s head was roughly pulled up by hair. His eyes landed on Taehyung who was doing even worse than he. The vampire had apparently knocked one attacker out cold – or even killed him, Yoongi really hoped –, but now he was lying on the floor, barely conscious himself. One man was pinning him down and the other held a metal stick against his temple. Taehyung’s face was contorted in a pained grimace and his mouth was moving, but no sound came out. His hands and legs were twitching weakly.

“What do you want?” Yoongi rasped. “Money? I can open the safe for you.”

And most of Taehyung’s money was not there anyway. Yoongi had no idea what his boss did for a living, because the bookstore’s income could no way cover the immense sums Taehyung spent on his wardrobe.

Maybe he was involved in some shady business and had somehow aggravated his rivals? Did they know that he was a vampire? His garlic allergy had apparently been noted.

The man above Yoongi let out a mocking laugh. “Money? Keep that to yourself. And stay away from those damned creatures if you know what’s good for you.”

“Hey,” the stranger holding Taehyung down turned to Yoongi’s attacker. “Did you bring the handcuffs?“

From the corner of his eye Yoongi saw a flash of steel as the cuffs were thrown over. Taehyung let out a weak whimper when the metal rings clicked around his wrists, but the man next to his head pressed the stick tighter against his temple. The vampire scrunched his eyes shut tightly. His mouth fell open, but instead of screaming, only a weird choked sound came out.

“What are you doing?!” Yoongi shouted. “Let him go, you fucking bloody morons!”

A stinging slap landed on his cheek. “Shut up, little bitch,” the man growled. “Protective, huh? Did you know that your dear friend here is a fucking bloodsucker?”

“So what?” Yoongi shot back. The rational part of his brain screamed at him to keep quiet if he wanted to stay alive, but Yoongi did not care. As usual. “Has he done anything to you?”

“You know and are still defending him?” Another slap. Yoongi tasted blood. “Did he seduce you? Did he promise to make you immortal one day and now you are letting this damned parasite feed on you?” Slap. “Or did he lure you in with his devilish charms, made you fall for him and told you silly stories about his everlasting love?” Slap. This one hurt the most. “Are you spreading your legs for him every night while he’s sucking the blood out of you? Look closely, you stupid vampire’s bitch, because you’ll never see him again.”

Yoongi saw red. All thoughts had left his mind and with a force surprising even to him he yanked his head free, tears falling from his eyes at the sudden pain in his scalp. The man’s hand happened to be just before his face, so Yoongi sank his teeth into the flesh, right at the base of thumb. A feral gnarl rumbled in his throat and when he pulled his head back sharply, he could feel the small bones moving and muscle fibres straining and breaking. It was intoxicating. It was amazing.

“You fucking son of a…”

Then Taehyung screamed.

The vampire’s desperate shrieks had been terrifying before, but now Yoongi felt his blood turn cold as the shrill cry rang in his ears. It did not sound like anything a human – or even a vampire – could produce. No, Taehyung was screaming as a terrified animal, one long piercing screech after another. The air was alive – Yoongi could almost see it darkening and swirling, swirling frantically. Everything was black and red and it was hard to breathe.

Someone yelled, someone punched something… And suddenly there was a hand in Yoongi’s hair again and his face was repeatedly hit against the floor until he could not see or hear anything save the blood roaring in his ears.

And then everything was silent again.

Slowly Yoongi raised his head. Everything was blurry and when he tried to move, red dots were dancing before his eyes. He could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. His head was hurting.

Little by little his vision started to clear. The room was empty. Some books were pulled from the shelves and thrown to the floor, but otherwise everything was almost like always. Only a few red stains marked the place where Taehyung had taken down one of his attackers. His companions had probably carried him out.

And they had taken Taehyung.

Yoongi rushed to stand. The room was swimming and swaying and he had to grab the bookshelf to keep himself from falling. As quickly as he could he staggered to the door. It was wide open and heavy rain fell on the floor. Yoongi peeked outside, but there was no one in sight.

“Shit,” Yoongi whispered, crouching down slowly, and pressed his face tightly against his knees. “Oh shit, oh fucking shit…”

What should he do? Call the police? But then it might have come out that Taehyung was a vampire and the man had made it very clear he did not want Yoongi to tell anyone about this. On the other hand, it was better to risk Taehyung’s anger than let him to get killed… or whatever those bastards wanted to do with him. Yoongi had grown quite fond of his eccentric boss.

But what if they had killed him by now? Or were torturing him to death? What if he was already late? Taehyung’s terrific screams were still echoing in his head, growing louder and more desperate. It was almost as if the vampire had been inside his mind, begging, screeching, crying for help…

He had to do something! Yoongi jumped up, only to stumble and fall on his knees.

“Fuck,” he muttered and scrambled to stand again. His phone had to be on the chair near the fireplace. He had left it there when those men had come. Whatever Taehyung could have thought about it – he had to call the police.

On wobbling legs, Yoongi made his way through the shelves. His head was throbbing and his back hurt. When he was passing the “battlefield”, he had to stop and take a breath. And there he noticed, just beside a fallen book, a small rectangular object. Taehyung’s phone.

Yoongi felt like crying. He fell to his knees and carefully picked up the phone, holding it as if it was made of glass. A corner of the screen was broken, but otherwise the device was undamaged. And the number of the most recent call belonged to Jungkook. Or actually Jeon Cena – Taehyung liked to use nicknames in his phone contacts. Perfect.

“Pick up, pick up,” Yoongi muttered as the man did not answer immediately. “Shit, Jungkook, answer the damn phone!”

The quiet peeping sound lasted for something that felt like an eternity. Yoongi was about to give up and look for the next number when finally somebody took the call. But even if he heard voices, no-one was answering him.

“Jungkook?” Yoongi asked. “Can you hear me?”

A noise akin to moan sounded at the other end of the phone.

“Jimin, don’t answer,” he faintly heard. “Jimin, hyung, please. Why do you…”

“No!” Yoongi shouted. “I have to talk to you!”

“Kook-ah, it’s Taehyung,” someone said in a high-pitched and oddly strained voice. Yoongi assumed it was Jimin. “Hi, Taetae! Wanna guess what we’re doing right now?”

It took a few seconds for Yoongi to realise that the question was directed at him. “Ah, um…”

“I’ll – oh! – I’ll give you three guesses,” the man continued, his tone sugary sweet. “And if you get a correct answer…”

“Listen, I don’t have time for this,” Yoongi interrupted. “I’m Yoongi, not Taehyung. Taehyung is kidnapped. There were four strange men and…”

“What!?” the other screeched. “What did you say?”

“Kidnapped,” Yoongi told him again.

“Are you serious? It’s not one of Taehyung’s pranks?”

“I’m a fucking hundred per cent serious,” Yoongi hissed. “Four men came to his bookstore, threw garlic onto him and took him down when he was sneezing. One of them knocked me unconscious and when I woke, they were gone with him.”

“Oh fuck…” the man whispered. “Jungkook-ah, we’ve gotta go.”

“Jimin,” the other one whined, “aah, what the…”

“Taehyung is kidnapped. For real.”

Yoongi heard a terrified gasp. “What… when… how…”

“Dunno,” Jimin answered. “From his bookstore. Up, up. Oh my… Hey, you still there?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi confirmed.

“What was your name again?”

“Yoongi.”

“Okay, Yoongi. We’re coming, but tell Taehyung that if this is some of his damned pranks again, he may as well as go on a garlic diet, because we’ll eat this three times a day for the next three _months_. Got it?”

Yoongi nodded dumbly, before remembering that it could not be seen over the phone. “Got it.”

He did not know for how long he had been there on the floor, phone in his hand, staring into space. Only when the door was flung open – when had he closed it? – did Yoongi wake from his daze. He heard voices, one high and soft, another lower, and hurried steps that were nearing the place he was still kneeling.

“Yoongi-hyung!” someone shouted and Yoongi turned his head to see Jungkook, soaking wet, hair dishevelled and lips pale from cold. He wore a hoodie instead of a proper raincoat and the halfway opened zipper revealed there was nothing underneath. “Oh no, oh no…”

“What?” Yoongi asked as the younger was staring him with wide frightened eyes, and attempted to stand up again. Jungkook rushed to him, grabbing his shoulders. “I can stand, thank you.”

“Hyung, your – your face,” Jungkook stuttered. “Jimin, come here quickly!”

“What’s with my face?” Yoongi questioned. As the first waves of shock were ebbing away, everything was kind of blurry and muffled. From his peripheral vision he saw another man, shorter than Jungkook, with cute chubby cheeks and rose-coloured hair.

“Aah!” the man exclaimed. “Don’t move! Jungkook, get him lying down!”

Yoongi raised his hand and swiped over his face. His fingers came back bloody. And, as on a cue, his nose began to throb dully.

“’s nothing serious,” Yoongi mumbled. “Just my nose is bleeding.”

“And your brow and your cheek,” Jungkook informed him. “Sit down, hyung, and try to be still. Jimin will clean you up.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Yoongi argued as Jimin hurried to the back room. “These men were not ordinary people. They knew that Taehyung is a vampire. And they knew that he is allergic to garlic. He might be killed already!”

“Hyung,” Jungkook tried to calm him, “it is not easy to kill a vampire. Do you know how strong they are? Come, sit down and wait a bit. Whoever they were, I don’t think they can get rid of Taehyung so quickly.” The younger man helped Yoongi to sit on the floor again.

“Agreed,” Jimin chimed in. When had he returned? “Even their skin is like leather or something.” The man began to clean Yoongi’s face with a wet towel and suddenly Yoongi had to blink his eyes, because the memory of Junsu doing the exact same thing was too vivid. Only Jimin’s fingers were a lot warmer. And his hands were shaking a bit.

“So,” Jungkook asked, sitting on the floor beside Yoongi and hugging his knees, “what exactly happened?”

Yoongi took a deep breath. “There were four men,” he said. “Looked like some stereotypical gangsters, dressed all in black. They acted like customers, one of them wanted to talk to the owner and when Taehyung came, he suddenly threw minced garlic in his face. Taehyung started to sneeze, of course, and then… I didn’t see it very well, because one of the bastards pounced on me, but they had some weird metal sticks… they touched Taehyung with these and he… I don’t know… it looked like he had been electrocuted or something.” Yoongi shook his head, causing Jimin to almost poke him to the eye with the wet cloth.

“Sorry, hyung,” the younger man said. “Please hold still.”

“They knew he was a vampire,” Yoongi went on. “And I’m sure they came to capture him. They even had handcuffs with them.”

“And then?” Jungkook tried to act calm, but his voice was a little shaky.

“One of them knocked me out and when I woke up, they were gone with him.”

Jungkook did not say anything. His eyes were big and confused and he was aimlessly glancing around in the room.

“Has he somehow got himself in trouble with the law?” Yoongi wanted to know. “Or has he just pissed somebody off?”

Jimin frowned. “I… I… Well, sometimes the vampires fight with each other, but usually they just live alone and don’t bother anyone of their kind. They are not fond of the other vampires, but…”

“They were humans,” Yoongi interrupted Jimin. “I am sure of it. Remember, they had garlic with them. And… what do you mean the vampires are not fond of each other? There’s a guy named Jaejoong and Taehyung is apparently keeping in touch with him.”

“Ah, Jaejoong-hyung,” Jimin nodded. “Yes, I know him. They have a little circle of something akin to friends and Taehyung once said it is really weird for vampires to bond so closely. Normally they can’t stand each other very well. Maybe it’s because of the way they have been turned from human to vampire.”

“How…”

“Listen, hyungs,” Jungkook cut in, “we must do something. Jimin, is Yoongi-hyung’s face okay? Let’s… call someone or… ah, I don’t know, but we must do something!”

“Do you know Jaejoong’s number?” Yoongi asked. “Maybe he knows what to do?”

Jungkook took Taehyung’s phone and skipped through the contacts. “Jimin, do you know what his name in there is? Ah, found it, must be JJ-omma. Ee… well, Jaejoong-hyung has five different phone numbers.”

“Try them all,” Jimin urged. “Yoongi-hyung, your face is okay for now, but be careful with your nose. It doesn’t look very good.”

Yoongi touched his nose hesitantly while Jungkook called all the five numbers. It hurt, but not so much as his head.

“He doesn’t answer to any of them!” Jungkook sounded panicked.

“Try someone else,” Jimin suggested. “Is there anyone we know?”

The youngest scrolled down on the phone. “TaeMushroom? It sounds familiar. Jimin, is he someone from your dance class?”

“Ah, yes,” the other man nodded, “it’s Taemin-hyung. This blond-haired vampire, Taehyung’s friend; he’s back in Seoul. Give me the phone, I’ll talk to him.”

Yoongi looked around. The rain was still drumming against the windows. A lamp in the ceiling was flickering a bit. He had to fix it someday.

“Where is he?” Jimin muttered to himself. “Taemin-hyung, pick up, where are… um, hi, hyung! It’s Jimin. Yes… listen; we have a little problem here. We think that Taehyung is kidnapped.”

Taemin was probably laughing through the phone, according to Jimin’s frown and a rushed “No, no, hyung, I’m not joking!”

“Tell him about the garlic!” Jungkook whisper-shouted. “And those weird electric metal sticks!”

“Wait, Kookie,” Jimin waved his hand. “Yes, there were… how many, Yoongi-hyung? Four men. They seemed to know that Tae is a vampire. Wait… I’ll give the phone to Yoongi-hyung. He saw it.”

Yoongi put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“What garlic?” the obviously upset voice demanded. “And what were you talking about electric sticks?”

“One of those men threw minced garlic in Taehyung’s face,” Yoongi explained. “And while he was sneezing they touched him with some metal sticks. They couldn’t be electric, because those men held them with bare hands like nothing, but Taehyung acted like he was electrocuted.”

“What were they made of?”

“Um… steel? I don’t know. They were shiny and polished, as much as I noticed.”

“Shit,” the other swore. “Where are you?”

“At Taehyung’s bookstore.”

“Wait there,” the vampire ordered. “I’m coming.”

“What…” Yoongi started, but the call had already ended.

“So?” Jimin was playing with the hem of his sweater. “What did Taemin-hyung say?”

“He’s coming. Told us to wait.”

“We have to wear something warmer, it’s chilly outside. Jungkook should be all right, but…” Jimin glanced down at his pink sweater. “I’ll grab something Taehyung’s. Kookie, you want a shirt?”

“No,” Jungkook shook his head as Jimin was rushing to the back room. “Yoongi-hyung, what did Taemin-ssi say?”

“Almost nothing. He just asked me what happened and told he’s coming. Garlic and those sticks seemed to bother him the most.”

Jungkook just nodded and chewed on his lower lip, tapping his foot against the floor.

“You have any idea why those men came after Taehyung?” Yoongi asked the boy. “Is he involved into something suspicious?”

The younger sighed. “I don’t know much, honestly. There is some shady business… you might as well as know it… but Taehyung doesn’t like to talk about it. Says it’s best when I and Jimin don’t know too much. I thought he can deal with anything, because he’s a vampire and you know how strong they are, but…” Jungkook trailed off, blinked his eyes and attacked his lower lip with with a new anger. “Fuck…”

“Hey,” Yoongi called softly. “Taehyung _is_ a vampire after all. I don’t think he’ll be so easy to kill. And Taemin definitely knows better than us what to do.”

Jungkook sniffed and remained silent. Yoongi did not prod him any longer. He was not really in the mood for talking himself. His head was throbbing and his nose hurt. His back too, now when he paid attention to it.

Jimin returned soon, dressed in Taehyung’s black raincoat. It was too big for him, reaching to his calves, his fingers barely peeking out from the sleeves.

“I brought scarves and gloves as well,” Jimin announced. “And Yoongi-hyung, is this your jacket? It was hanging on the coat rack at the back room. I tried to find some painkillers for you as well, but there weren’t any.”

“Scarves and gloves?” Jungkook turned to the other. “It’s not even snowing outside.”

“But it’s the beginning of December anyway,” Jimin responded. “Put these on, you’ll catch cold otherwise.”

“Hey, slow down, we don’t even know where to go.”

“Yes, but maybe Taemin-hyung knows. We have to be ready, just in case.” Jimin buttoned up his – Taehyung’s – coat, then opened the buttons, wrapped a scarf around his neck, put on some gloves, only to take them off again… Finally he just stood at the middle of the room, looking around like a lost puppy. “Jungkook, seriously, when Taemin-hyung comes, we might have to hurry. Yoongi-hyung, do you need help with your jacket?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“ _Aish_ , you two…” Jimin took Yoongi’s jacket. “Put your left hand into the sleeve. Now right… ouch, your nose is bleeding again. Do you want some ice or…”

“I’m alright.” Yoongi carefully dabbed his nose with a tissue Jimin handed him. “I used to get into worse fights at bars.”

Well, he still did. Sometimes. But this was no one else’s business.

Seokjin, his friend, who was ironically working in a bar Yoongi liked to frequent, insisted that Yoongi was lacking normal human interaction and tried to suffocate the feeling of loneliness with drinking and eventual fighting. Namjoon, his other friend – overall quite a decent human being, but with an irritating habit to psychoanalyse everything in sight –, thought Yoongi was trying to punish himself for something. And Yoongi… well, Yoongi did not think a lot about it. He just craved the adrenaline. And the pain, sometimes. It made him feel alive.

But the way his head was hurting now was definitely not the kind of pain he enjoyed.

Jimin snorted. “All right. Now… what else… ah, we have to take some bandages with us, in case it gets… ahem… bloody again. And maybe something to use as a weapon? Kookie, what do you think?”

“I think you should sit down and shut up for once,” Jungkook snapped, but quickly pulled back when he saw the hurt expression on Jimin’s face. “Sorry, hyung, I didn’t mean…”

Jimin sniffled and sat on the floor. “It’s okay.”

They fell into silence after that, save for Jungkook’s foot tapping restlessly against the floorboards. He seemed embarrassed, looking everywhere but at Jimin. And Jimin was very pointedly not speaking, only trying to wipe his eyes as discreetly as possible.

“One of you said something about turning into a vampire earlier,” Yoongi asked to break the tense atmosphere. His head hurt even worse than before, but he did not want to bother Jimin and Jungkook with it. And there was not anything that could have been done about it anyway. “The reason why they hate each other.”

“Oh,” Jimin uttered and blinked his eyes. “Well, it’s not that they definitely hate each other… More like they prefer not to associate with other vampires. And their turning into a vampire is not the only reason. You see, there can’t be too many vampires, because they need humans to survive. Every new vampire is a threat to the others, because there will be less food left for them.”

Yoongi hummed in response. He really needed some painkillers.

“They also try to keep a low profile,” Jimin continued. “Imagine the panic if people discovered that vampires are real! But the more vampires there are the harder it is to hide. Anyway, their turning…”

Jimin suddenly seemed a little uncomfortable. Jungkook was snickering silently.

“Yah!” Jimin whacked the younger across the head. “Tell him by yourself if you are laughing at me!”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Yoongi cut in. “I was just wondering.”

“No, it’s not that bad,” Jimin rushed to say. “Just… drinking blood is often a… a sexually charged act and… Jungkook, stop laughing!”

“Sorry,” the other smirked. “That sounded almost poetical. ‘A sexually charged act.’”

“Shut up!” Jimin whined. At least those two seemed to get along again. “Respect your hyung!”

Yoongi chuckled, but had to stop abruptly, because his temples and forehead felt like bursting. “Ow.”

“Hyung, are you sure your head is okay?”

Yoongi waved Jimin off. “It will be, don’t worry. And I know by myself that drinking blood is ‘a sexually charged act’.”

“Ah, you were friends with Junsu-ssi,” Jimin remembered. “Taehyung has told us about him. Never met him, though.”

“He’s pretty close with Jaejoong-hyung,” Jungkook added.

“Well…” Jimin went on, “if you want to know, then sometimes vampires just attack people – knock them unconscious or even kill them and then feed on them. There are some who only feed this way; I mean, they like to kill humans and just drink them dry. But most vampires prefer to lure and woo humans, because, logically thinking, if you kill your food, there will be less of it later.”

Yoongi nodded thoughtfully at the luring and wooing part. That frightful awe Junsu had initially made him feel was hard to forget. The vampire could have done whatever he wanted by then and Yoongi would not have been able to resist him. But Junsu had dropped the act before anything had really happened. Yes, he had drank Yoongi’s blood (and did much more that that) and Yoongi had felt like going crazy with delight, but he had given his consent with a clear mind. Mostly. He was sucker for a little pain, sue him.

“So, the human is like under the spell,” Jimin kept going. “They can’t do anything even if they physically had the chance. There are some decent vampires who just feed and that’s all, but drinking blood turns them usually on and… you know…”

“I’d maybe prefer being killed and drunk dry,” Yoongi stated wryly. “It’s basically a rape. Even if the human doesn’t have anything against it at the very moment.”

“Definitely,” the other agreed. “Unless you are friends with said vampire and everything happens with your consent. Then it’s amazing.” He grinned and winked at Yoongi. “But you probably know that as well, am I right?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes at him and Jimin giggled cheerfully.

“All right,” he continued, “it’s mostly a vampire venom that turns you into one. But… well… you have to have sex at the same time, because there must be a connection of body and mind. I can’t explain it better, but I guess you kind of understand.”

Yoongi’s mind wandered back to the night at this very same room. Technically they had not even gone all the way, but he remembered the dark swirling abyss he had felt like falling into, void of anything save the pure bliss and Junsu’s overwhelming presence. And there had been stars in the vampire’s night black eyes.

“Okay,” he nodded slowly.

“Usually, when the vampire bites you, you’ll get injected with a little bit of venom,” Jimin went on. “It’s not a problem; it doesn’t do anything for you. But if the vampire forgets to control him- or herself, there may be too much venom pumped into your bloodstream and then you’ll become a vampire. It doesn’t happen often, but it is a possibility. And, as much as I have heard from Taehyung, turning is quite painful experience. The vampire who’s responsible for it generally even doesn’t know what they have done, because it takes a couple of hours for the venom to spread in your body. And then the hell begins. Everything hurts like crazy. What’s more, you have no clue what is happening to you. Only confusion, horrible pain and the feeling of your body and senses slowly changing. No wonder young vampires detest both themselves and the entire vampire race once they understand what has happened. Try to picture turning into some fucking fairy tale monster. Pretty depressing, isn’t it?”

Yoongi imagined Junsu, his sweet hyung, and… no. He did not want to think about it.

“But being a vampire doesn’t seem so bad itself,” he wondered after a while. “And they don’t look like any kind of monsters.”

“Well, they usually are,” Jimin argued, “even if it’s… understandable, considering the circumstances. I told you, they kill people, they bewitch and use them. Just, some of them are different. And we all are lucky to have met the best representatives of the vampire race. But still…”

The little bell above the door rang. Jimin hushed and then he flung himself forward with a shout of joy. “Taemin-hyung! Finally!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of accuracy: the characters’ ages are their Korean ages. Junsu’s birthday is December 15, so when Yoongi says to Taehyung that Junsu is 83 years old, it means that Junsu is 81 in international age, because he has yet to have his birthday in the present year.


	2. Night Rose

Taemin was… white. It was the first thing that came to Yoongi’s mind when he saw the vampire. Not only was his skin marble-like, but his snow-coloured hair seemed to glow in the soft light of the room and his lips were not blood red, but pale pink. Only his eyes were dark and deep, just like Junsu’s and Taehyung’s.

“So, you’re Yoongi,” the other went straight to the point. “Four men, garlic and metal sticks, am I right?”

Yoongi tried to nod. Not the smartest idea.

“How did they look like? Did you see any strange marks, tattoos, necklaces?”

“They were all wearing long coats,” Yoongi answered. “I didn’t see anything strange.”

“Okay.” Taemin rubbed his temples. “What do you all know about vampire hunters?”

“I... I guess I’ve heard of them? Kind of? Junsu-hyung mentioned them once. But…”

“You know Junsu-hyung? I mean, you know he’s a vampire?”

“Yes, I know that,” Yoongi confirmed.

“They are lovers,” Jimin smirked.

“Yah, shut up, ‘twas one time!” Yoongi grunted, while Taemin’s perfectly arched eyebrows rose in surprise.

“That’s… interesting,” the vampire remarked, but did not elaborate any further. “I guess Taehyung hasn’t told anything about the hunters either.”

“He has said a few things,” Jungkook spoke, “but not much. He has never seen one.”

“Could be so,” Taemin agreed, “he’s fairly young. Basically, vampire hunters are a bunch of fanatics who think that we are some monsters cursed by God. Okay, many of us are kind of monsters, but… well, the hunters believe that they are the sacred warriors of God or some bullshit like this and their life goal is to hunt down as many vampires as possible. When they catch one they keep him in silver cage and…”

“No!” Jimin abruptly screeched, startling the others. His hands were balled into fists and he looked ready to punch someone. “They can’t… Taemin-hyung, they can’t…”

“Jimin-ah,” the vampire started, bewildered, but Jimin launched himself onto the other, hitting his chest repeatedly. Taemin caught the boy’s wrists and pulled him closer, trying to hug him with one hand, but Jimin was thrashing too wildly. Jungkook witnessed the scene with wide eyes, his lower lip trembling all of a sudden. Yoongi did not understand anything.

“They can’t put him into a silver cage!” Jimin cried. “Those bastards, those bloody fuckers, those… I’ll kill them all; I’ll go there and kill them all!”

“Hush, Jimin-ah,” Taemin murmured, “we’ll find him, don’t worry.”

“Hyung,” Jimin cried, “if they have put him into the silver cage… oh God, Yoongi, those metal sticks! What if they were silver too?”

Taemin did not say anything, but his pained gaze was enough of a confirmation.

“What’s the matter with silver?” Yoongi asked. “Is it dangerous to vampires?”

“It burns us,” Taemin explained. “It feels like a fire could feel for humans. And it drains the energy from us. I guess it is similar to being electrocuted.”

“And will Taehyung die if he’s in the silver cage?”

“No,” Taemin shook his head, “it’s not so easy to kill a vampire. He’ll live.”

“In constant, terrible, maddening pain,” Jimin muttered from where he was pressed against the other’s chest.

“Taemin-ssi, what are they going to do with him?” Jungkook asked in a shaky voice. “Will they just keep him there or…?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Taemin admitted. “They’ll keep him alive at first, but…” He sighed deeply. “There’s two days to the full moon and… and we have to find Taehyung before this.”

“Or else?” Jungkook prodded.

“They’ll take him to church and kill him. To destroy evil, that’s what they say.”

Yoongi felt his blood running cold.

Jimin slowly raised his head and looked at Taemin, eyes rimmed with red. “If they kill him… if he dies… I will not survive this.”

“Jimin-ah, we’re going to find him,” Taemin tried to placate the boy.

“How?!” Jimin shouted at him. “Do you know where they’ve taken him?”

“No, but…”

“Do you have any idea which church it may be?”

“Not yet, that’s why…”

“We know nothing!” Jimin sobbed. “There’s dozens of churches only at Seoul! What if we can’t find the right one? What if he’ll be killed? What if those sick bastards are torturing him right now?!”

Yoongi glanced at Jungkook. The youngest was standing very still next to the bookshelf, body drawn taut as a bowstring. Tears were running down his cheeks, but he did not seem to notice.

“Can we do something?” Yoongi asked Taemin. “Maybe… I know vampires have very sharp senses… is it possible for you to track down their smell somehow or…”

“No, it won’t do,” the other replied. “It’s raining. All smells have washed away by now.”

Yoongi racked his brain for solution. “Are… do you have any idea, Taemin-ssi, if those vampire hunters are completely independent organisation or do they sell their services to someone?”

Taemin’s brow furrowed. “They usually work for themselves, as much as I know. They’re crazy fanatics, they aren’t after money. Their only goal is to kill all of the vampires. But there are some… organisations which hire them sometimes.”

Yoongi hummed for an answer.

“Why do you ask?” Taemin inquired. “And call me hyung if you are friends with Jimin and Taehyung. You too, Jungkook-ah.”

“I just thought that maybe there are some shady guys he’s pissed off and they sent those hunters for him,” Yoongi explained.

“He works for some fucking mafia,” Jimin muttered, raising his head from Taemin’s chest. “Oh… hyungs, you can’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry,” Yoongi nodded – ouch, his headache was a pain in the ass – as Taemin remarked, “I already knew it.”

“How do you…” Jimin started, but Jungkook suddenly interrupted him. “Hoseok,” the youngest said with a shaky voice. “Hoseok-hyung.”

“What’s with him?”

“He must do the same thing than Taehyung. I don’t know for sure, but I overheard them once – you remember, when he stayed the night at Taehyung’s place – and they were talking something about… guns? Police? Fight? Something like this. I’m not sure I’m right, but…”

“Call him!” Jimin urged. “Call him now! Is he in Taehyung’s phone contacts?”

Jungkook took the phone and scrolled through the contacts. “Could he be Sunflower?”

“No,” Jimin sniffed quietly, “that’s me.”

“Aww,” Taemin teased lightly. “What’s my name?”

“TaeMushroom.”

“What?” the vampire demanded as Jimin let out a watery chuckle. “It was four years ago when I wore this hairstyle and…”

“What do you think of Puppy King?” Jungkook continued, leaving Taemin’s complaints unnoticed. “Or Pretty Prince? Peter Pan? Llama-Llama? No, it can’t be him… oh, there’s someone named Justin Bieber.”

“Definitely not Hoseok-hyung.”

“Okay.” Jungkook continued scrolling. “Eastern Sea… whatever. Wait… Dancing Anchovy? Can it be?”

“Well, Hoseok-hyung likes dancing.”

“I’m calling,” Jungkook announced. “And if he – or she – isn’t Hoseok-hyung, then… oh, hello! Am I talking to Hoseok-hyung? No, I’m Taehyung’s friend, I needed to use his phone, but there are only nicknames for contacts… Dancing Anchovy… Sorry, not my phone, Taehyung is responsible for this. Ah, you know Hoseok-hyung? Yes, that would be great. Thank you!”

“So?” Jimin inquired.

“He’ll message me Hoseok-hyung’s number.”

“He’d better hurry.”

The number Dancing Anchovy sent belonged to J-Nope in Taehyung’s contact list. Hoseok was sleeping and, according to Jungkook’s apologetic tone, did not take the sudden waking very well, but once he had a grasp of the situation, the talk was short and quick.

“He sent us the location,” Jungkook said. “It’s in central Gangnam.”

“I have a car,” Taemin spoke up. “Let’s go.”

Despite the bleak situation they were in, Yoongi had to admire the efficient way Taehyung’s fellow gangsters (as Taemin jokingly called them) worked. As soon as they had reached Hoseok’s place – a fancy apartment in Daechi-dong – a cheerful-looking young man greeted them at the main door and ushered them inside, proceeding to search them quickly for any weapons.

“Sorry,” the man apologised, his bright round eyes crinkled in a little smile. His Korean had a slight accent. English? Chinese? “I know it does not seem very hospitable, but these are the safety measures.”

“It’s okay,” Taemin reassured him.

“Anyway,” the man continued while leading them to the elevator, “you can call me Jackson. Or J-Flawless. Or” – he flashed them a bright grin – “Wild&Sexy. You choose.”

Jackson was from Hong Kong, as they learned during their short ride upstairs. He had been fencer when he was younger – “You can’t call it just a sword, there are épée, foil and sabre, and I fight with a sabre” –, he loved dancing, cheese and Dr. Dre, he passionately hated bugs and his favourite colour was black. And at the same time – Yoongi could not understand how he did  it – he casually managed to learn all their names, talk with Jungkook about the  _Iron Man_ , get Jimin’s  _and_ Taemin’s numbers, discover that Yoongi liked playing piano – “Me too, hyung, but I don’t play much – wait, I can call you hyung, right?” – and figure out that Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung were in some kind of polyamorous relationship (“Mind if I join? Haha, only kidding! No, if you really want to, I will. May I bring a friend, too?”). Yoongi had known his boss more than a month and until this very moment he had never even suspected.

“Here it is!” Jackson finally announced as they stepped out of the elevator and into a spacious apartment. “The home of our Hoseokie, the loveliest and deadliest sunshine you’ll ever see… except me, of course. Hobi! Seok-ah! J-Hope! They’re here!”

Hoseok was like Jackson’s soulmate, a bit more subdued at a glance, but as friendly and outgoing as the latter. The three humans and a vampire were asked to have a seat, each one was handed a cool bubble tea, Yoongi got some painkillers and had to tell his story for a third time during the night. Hoseok’s and Jackson’s warm smiles faltered gradually, the further he proceeded, and were replaced with such a cold glares that it made Yoongi stutter quite a bit. It did not help that a young woman – Amber, as she had introduced herself – was in the room as well, sitting cross-legged at the floor and typing quietly on her computer while Yoongi spoke, occasionally throwing sharp glances at him.

“So,” Hoseok stated grimly when Yoongi was finished, “we have two days, right? And then he’ll be killed?”

“I’m not absolutely certain,” Taemin cut in, “but these men acted like vampire hunters, according to Yoongi, and there are only two nights to the full moon.”

Hoseok nodded, looking at his pale guest who was absentmindedly nibbling at his straw. “Oh, sorry for the bubble tea! You’re a vampire, of course. If you want to, I have some popsicles. Taehyung likes those.”

Yoongi looked at Hoseok, surprised. Vampires ate ice cream? But when Hoseok brought a dark red ice stick from his fridge, it quickly made sense.

“That’s sweet,” Taemin commented, swirling his tongue around the frozen blood. “And she was fairly young. Where did you get this?”

“Local blood bank,” the man replied. “Anyway, I might have an idea…”

“Dal Yong Pa.”

Hoseok looked at the woman sitting on the floor. “I was thinking about Geum Saja Pa, but…”

Amber rose to her feet, putting away the computer, and shook her short hair. “Dal Yong Pa has a vampire.”

Three pairs of surprised eyes were at her.

“I know they have a vampire, noona,” Hoseok said as the woman sat next to Jackson. “But Taehyung told us once that there were some hunters in the ranks of Geum Saja Pa. I mean, why would they have any business with the hunters? The only logical explanation is that they know vampires exist and they want to fight against them for some reason. And why would they want to fight against vampires? Most likely they have somehow sniffed out Taehyung’s identity.”

“And we have a truce with Dal Yong Pa,” Jackson added.

“I’m not so sure of the truce,” the other remarked, “at least concerning Tae.” Her voice, as Yoongi noticed, was pretty low for a woman, but it sounded nice and soothing. Were she in the music industry, she could have made quite a career as a singer. “A little more than a month ago Leeteuk and his older advisors sent some hunters to catch Hero – the vampire in Dal Yong Pa,” she added, turning to the four guests. “The operation ended with all the hunters killed, but I’ve got a suspicion Dal Yong Pa is trying to pay us back.”

“What?!” Jackson exclaimed. “Why didn’t I know anything about sending the hunters to Hero?”

“I didn’t either,” Hoseok added.

“Guys, my uncle’s one of Leeteuk’s advisors,” Amber smiled. “I have an inside info.”

“And why didn’t they tell us?” Jackson pouted. “Why didn’t _you_ tell us?”

“Leeteuk was trying to keep Tae out of it,” the woman admitted, “and therefore didn’t allow me to tell you as well at the time. Sorry. Anyway, now you know. It was partly for Taehyung’s own safety and partly because oppa wasn’t sure how would Tae react to all of this. I mean, Tae is a vampire as well – I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have liked any business with the hunters.”

“Why did he sent the hunters?” Hoseok asked.

“Remember this deal with Daelim Industries? Where Dal Yong Pa interrupted and five of our men were killed? The hunters were a revenge.”

“Excuse me,” Jungkook spoke up with a slightly shaky voice, “but can we do something? Like call Leeteuk-ssi or his advisors?”

“I’ll call Leeteuk right now,” Hoseok assured him. “But, for your further knowledge, if you ever happen to talk with his advisors, you know nothing about Taehyung, got it? They don’t know he’s a vampire.”

Jungkook looked at him with big confused eyes.

“It’s a longer story,” Amber interrupted them, rising from the sofa. “Seok-ah, call Leeteuk. Jacks, come with me, I’ve got a feeling we’ll soon have some work to do. _Aish_ , don’t look at me like that! I told you, oppa made me promise to keep my mouth shut.”

Hoseok’s phone call with Leeteuk was too difficult to follow for Yoongi’s hurting head. So he just leaned back on the couch, nursing his bubble tea, and looked around. The apartment was impressive, at least according to the two-story living room: white marble floor, large windows, crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, some abstract paintings on the walls, enormous LCD screen and maroon velvet sofa with pillows so soft that he felt like drowning into it. He, Jimin and Jungkook seemed really out of place here with their messy hair and clothes askew. Taemin, on the other hand, blended seamlessly into the environment, mindlessly picking on his blood popsicle, fingers playing with the collar of his white denim jacket. The only thing out of place was a deep wrinkle between his brows.

“Are you all right, hyung?” Yoongi asked quietly. Jimin and Jungkook did not hear him, they were absorbed in Hoseok’s discussion with Leeteuk.

Taemin gave him a wry smile. “I just came to understand that the current situation is more complex I thought at first.”

“How so?”

The other sighed. “You see, Taehyung is a member of Bam Jangmi Pa, but at the same time… what’s so funny?”

“Sorry,” Yoongi smiled. “Just didn’t think gangsters can be such romantics. Night Rose as a gang name is a bit… odd, to say the least.”

“Leeteuk’s grandfather and the founder of the organisation was an avid admirer of literature,” Taemin explained. “I’ve heard he used to write poems on his free time. And Taehyung’s bookstore was initially a part of the property Leeteuk-ssi inherited after his grandfather’s death. But what I wanted to say…”

The vampire snapped his mouth shut as the door opened and Amber came in, Jackson in tow.

“What are the orders?” the latter stage-whispered, glancing around exaggeratedly. “We’re ready for the battle!”

Yoongi looked at them. Both were now clothed in jeans and dark hoodies – plain and ordinary streetwear no-one would have bothered to notice –, but Yoongi caught a sliver of metal before Jackson zipped up his hoodie. He was pretty sure Amber’s knee-high combat boots also had some deadlier purposes than fashion.

Hoseok stared the duo pointedly and put a finger to his lips. “Thank you, hyung,” he said. “We’ll go right now. Yes, I’ll take them all with me. See you soon!”

“All right,” the man turned to the others. “There’s nothing absolutely sure, but Leeteuk knows that one of the higher-ups from Dal Yong Pa likes to go to a pub in Sinsa-dong almost every night. He goes by the pseudonym Cinderella – Amber and Jackson, you have heard of him for sure –, but his real name is Kim Heechul and he’s pretty close to their leader. If it is Dal Yong Pa who’s behind all of this, we might get quite a lot information from him. But there are probably some armed guys with him, so we can’t go alone. Leeteuk will send Junior, Donghae and Eunhyuk with us. We’ll meet them at the pub’s parking lot. Questions?”

“I know that Cinderella – or Kim Heechul – is one of the higher-ups from Dal Yong Pa,” Jackson mused. “But how is it possible that Leeteuk knows not only the place he likes to go drinking, but his _real name_ as well? He even doesn’t know their leader’s name. Or this vampire’s name they have.”

“I don’t know,” Hoseok had to admit, “but I don’t believe Leeteuk will betray us if you’re implying this.”

“No, no,” Jackson quickly backed off, “I was only wondering how is this possible. Maybe they were childhood friends or something.” The man clapped his hands and giggled merrily. “Aww, how cute this would be! Only think about this! Two little children who unfortunately happen to be born into the families of different clans… What a drama!”

“More like a tragedy,” Amber argued. “Anyway, we should go. How does he look like?”

“Leeteuk sent a picture,” Hoseok answered and handed her a phone. “Okay, let’s go, we don’t have much time.”

“Interesting, how did he get the picture…” Jackson muttered in the background. “Oh, wow, he’s gorgeous as fuck!”

Taemin’s car was left to the garage and they all climbed to the luxurious Mercedes-Benz SUV, Amber claiming her place in the driver’s seat. Yoongi was a bit worried the car will stand out too much, but on the other hand, he thought, Gangnam was full of expensive cars, so probably it was all right.

“One thing,” Hoseok turned around in the passenger seat. “Jackson and Amber-noona already know this, but all the others, if you have to talk to me within the earshot of any enemies, you’ll refer to me as J-Hope. Got it?”

“What about Jackson and Amber?” Taemin asked. “And those other three guys?”

“My and Amber’s names are already some kind of pseudonyms,” Jackson explained. “If we don’t want to be associated with Bam Jangmi Pa, we’ll use our Chinese names. Eunhyuk is also a pseudonym – and Junior as well, obviously. And Donghae-hyung… well, that’s a longer story, but he basically faked his death and now uses his real name inside the clan and false name outside.”

Amber laughed. “It was a shock of the century! This clever bastard got us all fooled. We really thought he was dead. There was a big fight going on with Geum Saja Pa, he broke into a hospital and hid at the morgue. There he knocked out the poor head mourners, opened the coffin, changed clothes with the corpse and when the men from Geum Saja Pa came in, they shot the corpse who looked like he was crouching in the corner and trying to hide. Its face was all blown off, so when they sent us the picture, we had no idea it was some random corpse. Meanwhile, Donghae-oppa was already at the other side of Seoul. He had run from the morgue as soon as possible and had stolen a Porsche on his way.”

“Wow,” Jungkook uttered.

“Indeed,” Amber agreed. “He went hiding for two years – didn’t even tell us where he was – and…”

“Sorry, noona, I have to interrupt you,” Hoseok chimed in, “but there’s one more thing Leeteuk told us. He said he gave us Kim Heechul’s name only for this one operation. There may be undercover Dal Yong Pa members in the pub… or even some workers can be involved somehow, because Kim Heechul is a frequent visitor and he may have connections there. Anyway, maybe we have to ask for him, but we can’t search for Cinderella, because they’ll probably recognise then that it’s a trap. If anyone – and I repeat, anyone, but especially hyung’s advisors – ask about Kim Heechul, you don’t know anything.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” Jackson remarked. “That’s very interesting.”

“He doesn’t seem to be too fond of his advisors,” Yoongi commented. “I mean, they don’t even know that Taehyung is a vampire.”

“He isn’t,” Jackson confirmed. “He doesn’t trust them the slightest. But this thing with Cinderella – I mean Kim Heechul – is odd even for him.”

“Why does he keep the advisors if he doesn’t trust them?” Jungkook wanted to know.

“It would be too difficult to get rid of them all at once,” Jackson responded. “They have too many supporters and they play too important roles in the organisation. They were his father’s right-hand-men when he was alive.”

“Terrible times,” Amber added. “You and Hoseok-ah are glad you weren’t here then.”

“What happened to his father?” Jungkook asked.

“Accident,” Amber stated flatly. “He was drunk at his home, went to the kitchen and accidentally fell over the oven, face-first. The ambulance arrived too late.”

“This is the official version, I guess,” Taemin spoke up.

Amber looked at him through the rear view mirror and snorted. “Yes, Taemin-ssi,” she confirmed, “it’s the official version.”

“And this little detail shouldn’t reach the ears of his advisors, probably,” Taemin offered.

“Nah,” the other drawled, “most of them have suspected something from the beginning. Leeteuk has never been on good terms with his father. Let them suspect and fear. It keeps them on the line.”

“Back to our current operation,” Hoseok interrupted. “About Kim Heechul: Leeteuk asked us not to kill him, obviously, and – listen carefully – no permanent or lethal injuries.”

Jackson’s brow furrowed. “Well, that’s even more interesting.”

The three of them were left to the car – Yoongi, because he already was in not-so-good condition, and Jimin and Jungkook, because Taehyung would not have been pleased if something had happened to them. Jungkook took a place in the driver’s seat, just in case. They were seldom talking, mostly waiting in a tense silence. The rain had almost ceased and the glowing numbers on the dashboard seemed to smirk mockingly to them. It was already more than an hour past midnight.

Amber had parked the car so that it was easy to see the club’s entrance. Yoongi kept a sharp eye on the door, looking for something conspicuous, but nothing happened. Jimin and Jungkook were also glued to the window, their quiet breaths making the glass a little foggy. Everything seemed to be normal – people were going in and coming out and the sign above the door cast a warm reddish light onto the wet asphalt. The club itself was quite modest for this part of Gangnam, but definitely not some random hole in the wall. And the people going in or coming out mostly looked all dressed up.

Yoongi slowly leaned his head against the backrest. His forehead was still throbbing and there was dull pain behind his eyes, but it was a bit better than before. His back was probably going to be a bitch for few days though.

Next to him, Jimin drew a sharp breath and grabbed his hand. Yoongi raised his head and looked at the door again. “Whoa, finally.”

There was a lean figure dressed in black – Amber – who was fighting with a man Yoongi could not recognise. Amber had a long knife drawn out and he had probably wounded the man’s leg, because he seemed to be limping slightly. Some people nearby were screaming, a tall bouncer rushed closer, Amber attacked again, but missed, the man did a quick move, Amber tried to knock something out of his hand... and then a gunshot was heard.

“Oh no...” Jimin whispered. His short nails dug almost painfully into Yoongi’s palm.

Yoongi watched Amber falling, as in slow motion. She stumbled, then dropped to her knees and grabbed her side with both hands. The man took a step back and pointed a gun to her.

“We must...” Yoongi started, but right then Jackson stormed out of the bar – with a barstool in his hands. He threw it to the man, sending his opponent tumbling backwards. Using the other’s momentary confusion, Jackson pushed Amber aside, got a hold of the barstool again and promptly proceeded to beat the man with it. The stranger tried to shoot him, but Jackson kicked the pistol away with the stool’s leg, then dropped his improvised weapon and attacked the man with bare hands. What happened next, was too quick for Yoongi to keep track of, but Jackson clearly had the upper hand. Within a few seconds the man was lying on the concrete and Jackson captured his wrists with one hand while punching him to the face with another.

“Hey, didn’t he have to watch out for fatal injuries?” Yoongi wondered.

“Dunno.” During the fight Jimin had slowly released his death grip on Yoongi’s hand. “Maybe that’s not Kim Heechul. Or... wait, who are those two guys?”

Some men Yoongi had not seen before were trying to drag Jackson away from the nearly unmoving man. Jackson tried to push them away, but was more focused to the opponent beneath him. And Hoseok, who was checking on Amber at the meantime, did not seem to be bothered by them, so Yoongi figured they should have been the men Leeteuk had sent to them.

“And where is Taemin-hyung?” Jungkook asked.

The others did not have time to wander about that, because one of the newcomers yanked the car’s door open and pushed Jackson to the back seat.

“Man, get your hands off of me or I’ll knock you out next!” Jackson shouted. “I have to...”

“Jackson, calm down,” the other said. “He’s already unconscious, you don’t have to kick him any more.”

“The bastard shoot Amber!” Jackson hissed through his teeth. “I said, let me go or...”

“Jackson.” It was Hoseok now who was carefully leading Amber to the car. “She’ll be all right. Look, she’s even walking on her own. Amber-noona, can you climb inside?”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Gee, you guys are such a fussies!” She clutched her side with one hand and hoisted herself into the car. “Oh shit, that actually hurts!”

“Amber-noona?” Jackson had already hopped off the car and climbed to the rearmost seat with Amber. “Are you...”

“I’m cool, Jacks,” the woman smiled. “If you could get me some water and bandages...”

“Guys, we have to move,” Hoseok declared. “I saw Cinderella on his phone some time during our attack – he may have called someone. Jackson, you’ll be with Amber. Jungkook, get to the passenger’s seat, I’m driving. Eunhyuk-hyung, Donghae-hyung, Junior, take Cinderella. Where is... oh, fuck, there’s the police.”

The word  _police_ was like a magic spell. Two of the new guys took the man – Kim Heechul himself – and lifted him to the back seat of a car parked right next to Hoseok’s Mercedes. The third one rushed to the driver’s seat, started the car and drove off – all of  it in no more than fifteen seconds. Hoseok climbed into his car and started it, ready to follow the others.

“Wait!” Jimin called. “Taemin-hyung!”

“Fuck!” Hoseok swore. “We don’t have time!”

“We can’t leave him here!”

Hoseok sighed. “Yeah, I know. Amber-noona, have you patched up? Great, we’ll deal with the bullet later. Jackson, take a gun. Jungkook, Jimin, Yoongi-hyung, do you know how to shoot a gun? No? Oh, well, that’s what I thought. Okay, Jimin, try to call Taemin. I’m not leaving him, I’ll just drive around the club to shake the cops off a little bit.”

Jimin stared at the phone. “Pick up, Taemin-hyung, pick up... hey, he’s not answering!”

“For fuck’s sake,” Hoseok uttered and drove the car out of the parking lot, nearly hitting the police car in the process. “What’s he doing there, ordering a drink or what?”

Amber glanced out of the window. “Guys, we’re being chased.”

“No shit.” Hoseok sighed again. “Where that idiot... ooh, fuck-fuckity-fuck, what’s this?!”

“Oh man holy shit!” Jungkook yelped.

Yoongi fell from his seat and almost hit his head again when the car came to a sudden stop. There was a face at the front window – a pale face staring at them with red eyes that gleamed devilishly through the rain. Its mouth was half-open, revealing a pair of bloody fangs. The upper lip was twisted into a creepy parody of a smile.

The creature nodded at them and... leaped over the car like it was nothing, straight to the police car. A shouting was heard, similar to Hoseok’s, and a few shots.

Jimin snorted.

“Jimin?” Yoongi turned to the younger. “Are you all right?”

Jimin burst out laughing.

“Man, what are you laughing at?” Hoseok demanded. “I almost had a heart attack! What the everloving fuck was _that_?”

Jimin only shook his head, giggling like a crazy.

“Is he in shock or what?” Jackson asked.

“Jimin?” Yoongi grabbed the other by his shoulders and shook him lightly. “Jimin, talk to me!”

“Aah,” Jimin wheezed. “Drive, hyung, drive! Oh man, that was funny...”

“Well,” Hoseok grumbled, starting the car again, “I almost shitted my pants. Great it was funny to... ooh, what the...”

The back door was yanked open and a bloody figure jumped in. “Sorry for the delay. I was... occupied. But you don’t have to worry about the police, I bit their tyres.”

Jungkook turned around. “Taemin-hyung?”

“Correct,” Taemin smiled. There was a strange growl in his voice. “J-Hope, drive. I stopped the police car and broke their tyres, they can’t chase us.”

Hoseok speeded abruptly. “Where the fuck you were? Why do you look like some fucking nightmare? And... why is it cold in the car?”

Yoongi turned to Taemin. The vampire was... horrifying, to say the least. His face was smeared with blood and his once white clothes now looked like he had taken a blood bath without bothering to undress. Taemin’s fangs were elongated and there were some weird red pieces stuck between his teeth. Yoongi had an idea what they could have been, but he was afraid if he thought about it more he might throw up. The overwhelming metallic stench that had come with Taemin was already bad as it was.

And it was strangely cold in the car, but almost suffocating at the same time. It felt like Taemin was oozing the icy air that swirled around in the car and fell onto everyone like a heavy blanket. And in the centre of this all were the vampire’s eyes, bright red and sparkling. Yoongi could not help but be afraid – every normal human being could have been –, but at the same time this fear sparked a bittersweet longing in him. This was almost like Junsu. Almost.

“Taemin-hyung,” Jimin whispered. “What did you do in there? Were you feeding?”

Taemin smiled apologetically and picked on a strip of flesh beneath his teeth. “I could not help it. There were four bodyguards with Kim Heechul. And it has been a long time I’ve eaten properly.”

Jimin frowned. “You killed them all?”

“Um... I didn’t plan to. But... yeah.”

Jimin sighed. “Oh, well. What’s done is done. I only hope we’ll get Taehyung back after all of this.”

“And let’s hope Dal Yong Pa won’t send his vampire onto us,” Yoongi added.

Taemin hummed. “Well, it’s a... complicated situation, I must say.” His voice had turned into a whisper. “As far as I know there hasn’t been problems with it earlier, but... the vampire of Dal Yong Pa...”

“What are you talking about?” Jungkook had turned around again and was looking at them between the front seats. “Something about Taehyung?”

“No, about the club fight,” Taemin answered smoothly. “Jimin-ah was just horrified because I accidentally killed all four bodyguards of Kim Heechul and fed on them after.”

“Ew,” Jungkook replied while Jackson grumbled, “Good for them.”

“Jacks, come on,” Amber chuckled. “I’m alive.”

“What did you do with the bodies?” Hoseok asked. “If Dal Yong Pa finds out it was a vampire attack...”

“They’ll find out anyway,” Taemin argued. “I dragged the bodies out and hid them into some random garbage truck nearby, but if you leave Kim Heechul alive he will surely tell the others.”

“That’s not a big problem.” Hoseok made a sharp turn and drove through a red light. “Oops. Dal Yong Pa suspects that we may have a vampire, but we can’t make the attacks too obvious, because Leeteuk’s older advisors can’t know that Taehyung is a vampire.”

“So,” Taemin tried to follow, “Dal Yong Pa doesn’t know that Leeteuk’s advisors don’t know that Taehyung is a vampire? They think the advisors know? And if they knew the advisors don’t know, they would use this information to turn the advisors against Leeteuk and weaken Bam Jangmi Pa? Something like this?”

“Pretty much,” Hoseok confirmed.

“Phew,” Taemin sighed. “It’s even more complicated than I thought.”

Yoongi was a bit curious about what Taemin tried to tell them earlier, but the vampire was staring out of the car window and did not seem to be in the mood for talking. And frankly, Yoongi was neither. He missed the book shop and silence and fire in the fireplace and Taehyung… and Junsu, of course.

“Oh shit!” Jungkook suddenly whispered. “I just remembered I have a test tomorrow!”

Jimin snorted. “Well, sucks for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOT7 fans, I’m sorry for calling Jinyoung Junior. Please don’t kill me – he really needed a business pseudonym. XD


	3. Hero

“Taemin-hyung.” It was Jungkook, turning around on his seat again. “I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time how did you and Taehyung meet.”

They had driven almost for an hour by now. The rain had eased to a gentle drizzle and the ever-busy traffic of Seoul had calmed down a bit. It was half past two at night.

Taemin smiled at the question. His fangs were retreated and his irises had almost got back their pitch black hue. “Taehyung hasn’t told you?”

“He has said you’re his very first vampire friend,” Jimin joined in, “and he has known you almost for as long as he has been a vampire, but... well... he doesn’t like to talk much about his turning, so...”

“Oh, yeah,” Taemin nodded. “It’s definitely... let’s say a traumatic experience for every vampire. But I found him wandering on the streets – he had run from home, because he was afraid he might kill his family – and… usually I don’t do that, but he looked so lost and alone, so I shared my… um… my meal with him and explained some things to him. And then I just kept checking on him, you know, just to see if he’s all right. And that’s pretty much it. Some time after this he befriended with Leeteuk and then he met both of you and you already know the rest.”

“He saved Leeteuk’s life and hyung asked him to join Bam Jangmi Pa,” Hoseok added.

“Ooh!” Jungkook exclaimed. “That sounds cool! And at some point you, Taemin-hyung, introduced him to Jaejoong-hyung and Junsu-ssi?”

Taemin looked a bit uncomfortable at the mention of Jaejoong and Junsu. “Well… it was actually Junsu-hyung who suggested this. I was unsure at first and Jaejoong-hyung was outright against it… he’s a great guy once you know him, but it takes time to gain his trust… anyway, when Junsu-hyung heard about Taehyung, he came to see him and afterwards convinced us to take him into our… circle? Clan? Whatever. And that’s basically the story.”

“I have never heard of Jaejoong and Junsu,” Jackson admitted. “Okay, to be honest, I’ve never heard of you as well before yesterday.”

“Could be,” Taemin agreed. “Taehyung prefers to keep his personal and… professional life separated.”

“Professional life!” Jackson repeated, laughing. “Well, if you put it this way. Anyway, what do you think of taking up the profession yourself? I mean when this hell is over and Taehyung is safe and sound. Hobi, what do you say about another vampire?”

“Sounds lovely,” Hoseok agreed, while Taemin slightly shook his head. “Thank you for the generous offer, Jackson, but I’d rather continue with dancing. Taehyung is the adrenaline junkie, I like a bit calmer life.”

“I understand,” Hoseok cut in, “but what about money? Connections? I mean even if you don’t have to spend for food and you’d actually manage without a roof over your head, why not have some nice things? What about an apartment in Gangnam? Private planes and yachts? The sums in our… field of work, so to say, are not small and successful operations will be rewarded well. Also, you wouldn’t have to work all the time. You would have plenty of time to continue with dancing or whatever you wish to do.”

“Thank you but no,” Taemin answered. “I’m here now because Taehyung is in danger, but I’m content with my life and work as it is.”

“Okay,” Hoseok agreed, “if you don’t want to then no pressure. But what about your friends? Junsu and Jaejoong?”

Taemin smiled. “Junsu-hyung will certainly say no. He… doesn’t like to be tied to anything or anyone. About Jaejoong-hyung… I hope you’ll never meet him.”

“Why?” Jackson wondered.

The other snorted. “Vampires are dangerous. Even if we sometimes act civilised.”

They stopped in front of some abandoned warehouse. Eunhyuk, Donghae and Junior took still unconscious Heechul inside. Hoseok killed the engine and turned around in his seat.

“So,” he looked at Jungkook, Jimin, Yoongi and Taemin, “wanna stay in the car and maybe catch some sleep? It might get a bit messy inside. Or do you want to watch?”

Yoongi definitely preferred the car, even if sleep was impossible with his head hurting like this. He could already imagine the type of mess Hoseok was referring to and he did not have any interest in watching the upcoming interrogation. But before he could say something along these lines, Jimin spoke up.

“I want to know where Taehyung is. Like, right now.”

Hoseok hummed. “Alright, inside you go.”

Jungkook turned around. “I’ll go with you.”

“Well,” Taemin started, “if you’re already going…”

“Good,” Hoseok smirked. “You can use your vampire-ish charms to make Cinderella more cooperative.”

Taemin frowned. “You mean I should seduce him?”

“Oh,” Hoseok grinned. “If you wish, then be my guest. But I was actually thinking about your beautiful red eyes and fangs and this cold and heavy thing you did with the air.”

“Ah, that.” Taemin nodded. “Can do.”

“Good. And Yoongi-ssi?”

Now he did not want to stay in the car alone as well. “Okay, I’m coming with you.”

“Excellent!” Hoseok exclaimed. “Let’s go!”

Yoongi climbed out carefully and had a look at the surroundings. It reminded him his own neighbourhood – dark empty streets, old buildings, peeling paint, some smashed-in windows, an abandoned construction site nearby… He wondered if there was some gangsters’ meeting place near his home as well. There were suspicious rumours about some dudes living in the house next to his. And at a few nights he had heard something that sounded like gunshots.

“You still have your first-aid supplies here?” Amber asked as Jackson was helping her out of the car. “I’d like to get rid of this bullet.”

“Of course. And some water tanks.” Hoseok nodded at Taemin. “You could make a good use of the water as well. If you want to, I mean,” he added quickly, probably worried about offending the vampire.

Taemin showed him a bloody smile that turned smug when Hoseok winced at the terrifying sight. “Sure I want to.”

“Sorry for the inconveniences,” Hoseok’s cheery voice rang in the dark room. “It’s a business office, not a hotel suite.” He chuckled at his own joke and clicked the switch. Harsh electric light illuminated a concrete floor, high walls covered with graffiti and a row of barred windows right under the ceiling. “Something nice in Central Seoul would be more comfortable, of course, but we would get too many noise complaints. And we do have some luxuries, just in case.”

The inside of the warehouse looked a bit better than the outside, Yoongi had to admit. It was cold and dusty and mostly bare and some random stuff was lying around here and there, but one corner was separated from the rest of the room with a screen and there were water tanks and some sleeping mats. They even had a disposable toilet in a small adjacent room.

Heechul was tied to the chair at the centre of the main room. He was still knocked out, so Jackson used the time to get some medical tweezers and remove the bullet from Amber’s side. The woman bore the pain really well – Yoongi did not look, but the only sounds he heard were occasional grunts and hissed pleas for Jackson to “be more careful, what the hell are you doing there”. Meanwhile, Taemin got some water and washed the blood from his face, hair and hands. He did not bother with his clothes, these were ruined beyond repair anyway.

Yoongi felt pretty useless and out of place, but finally sat down on one of the mats, farther away from Jimin and Jungkook. The youngest was on his phone and Jimin was curled around him, mumbling petulantly when Jungkook tried to shoo him away, because he had to write an e-mail to his professor. Yoongi thanked whatever higher powers there were that no-one tried to talk to him – he was so tired he would have probably snapped. And then Jimin would have started crying again and Yoongi would have felt guilty on top of everything else.

One of the men – Junior? – were left to watch Heechul, while Hoseok with Eunhyuk and Donghae discussed something quietly. Then they brought a bucket of water next to the chair and wheeled out an old table with some things Yoongi could not exactly see over the room. He had a suspicion he did not want to see anyway.

Finally Heechul stirred.

“J-Hope!” Junior called. “Your little birdie is waking up!”

Hoseok stepped closer and inspected the half-unconscious prisoner. Eunhyuk and Donghae followed his lead. “Well, let’s quicken the process a bit, shall we? Water.”

Junior took a bucket near the chair and threw it to Heechul’s face. The man spluttered, drew some water into his windpipe and fell into a coughing fit. Then he apparently noticed that his arms and legs were tied, but instead of struggling and screaming he just raised his head and sent Hoseok a disgruntled glare.

“Good morning,” Hoseok smirked.

“Good morning my ass,” Heechul rasped and coughed again. “Whom I have the pleasure to meet?”

Hoseok did a little bow. “J-Hope. Sounds familiar?”

Heechul raised his eyebrows. “Bam Jangmi Pa? What’s the occasion if I may ask?”

“Oh, nothing serious,” Hoseok grinned. “We only have a few questions and if you work with us nicely, you will be out of here no time.”

“Lovely,” Heechul commented with a mocking voice. “Well, shoot.”

“Ever had any business with the vampire hunters?”

Now Heechul looked at Hoseok as if the latter had grown a second head. “What the ever-loving fuck are vampire hunters?”

Hoseok sighed. “Don’t play dumb with me, Cinderella. We know that U-Know has a vampire.”

“Who’s U-Know?” Jungkook whispered.

“The leader of Dal Yong Pa,” Jackson answered.

“Come again.” Heechul seemed to have a hard time deciding if he should be amused or angry. “You guys killed four of our men and knocked me out to tell me some fucking _fairy tales_?”

“Enough with the bullshit!” Hoseok snapped. “We know about Hero.”

Heechul eyed him with a mocking smile. “I know Hero as well. So?”

“Don’t play with me,” Hoseok warned darkly. “I asked you a question. Ever had any business with the vampire hunters?”

Heechul’s gaze did not waver. “Would you be so kind to explain me at first what the fuck are vampire hunters?”

“Fine,” Hoseok huffed, “have it your way.” He took something small from the table – a needle? – and held it against Heechul’s finger. “So, the hunters. One last chance to tell me nicely.”

“Man, you’re crazy,” Heechul stated. “And dumb.”

Hoseok pushed the needle under Heechul’s nail. The man gasped sharply, but did not scream.

“You do realise,” he continued, squinting towards his finger, “that when you’re torturing someone, they’re going to tell you what they think you want to hear, not the actual truth.”

“I could do with this,” Hoseok grinned. “Now tell me what you think I want to know about the hunters.”

“Fine,” Heechul mockingly mimicked Hoseok, “have it your way. Yes, of course Dal Yong Pa is dealing with the vampire hunters. We keep them in cages in our basement. Along with the vampires, by the way. U-Know has a personal theatre and sometimes we release the hunters and vampires to the arena to have them fighting against each other. It’s quite fascinating to… ouch, you little shit! I told you about the hunters, didn’t I?”

Hoseok had stuck another needle under his nail. “Keep your bullshit to yourself, Cinderella. If you want to make it out alive.”

Heechul did not answer and Hoseok took out a knife. “Well, let’s see what we have here.”

Yoongi closed his eyes. The painkillers had worn off and everything felt too bright and loud. His head was throbbing and making him nauseous. The knife in Hoseok’s hand somehow reminded him of Taehyung and the silver sticks and the piercing cries of the vampire. His stomach was turning and the echo of Taehyung’s screams got louder and louder until his brain felt like bursting out of his skull.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Yoongi flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and forced his eyes open. The screams he heard were not his own imagination, he understood, but Heechul’s terribly real voice. He did not want to see what Hoseok was doing, instead opting to look at Amber’s worried face.

“My head is hurting again,” he managed to say, “and I feel like throwing up.”

Amber nodded and dug around in a small medicine pouch, seemingly unbothered by the ongoing interrogation. He handed Yoongi two white pills and a bottle of water. Yoongi swallowed the medicine obediently.

“You need some fresh air.” The woman rose to her feet slowly, pulling Yoongi along. “These kind of things” – she glanced at the centre of the room – “take some time to get used to. Come.”

Yoongi followed her to the farthest corner of the room. There was a little door.

“To spare your pride,” Amber spoke, grinning. “It would be too apparent if you walked out from the front door.”

Yoongi was feeling too awful to be embarrassed. He only looked back to see what Jimin and Jungkook were doing. Both of them were still sitting on the mat. Jimin had hid his face into Jungkook’s shoulder, but the younger was watching the scene in front of him with big eyes, unmoving. Taemin was sitting next to them. Jackson had went somewhere.

“What about them?” Yoongi asked.

Amber turned to look at the trio. “Seems to me that they’re enjoying the show.” She opened the door and shooed Yoongi out. “If it becomes too much for them they can always leave. But I guess Taemin-ssi has seen – and done – more terrible things.”

Yoongi nodded and stepped aside to let Amber close the door.

“Man,” he heard Heechul speaking through gritted teeth, “what’s the point of questioning me when you bastards don’t believe anything I…”

The door shut with a click and Yoongi was spared from the rest.

Amber plopped down on the little bench next to the warehouse and motioned Yoongi to sit next to her. “Better?”

Yoongi tried to nod again, but quickly thought better of it. “I’ve been in fights worse than this. I just need some time to rest and sleep it off.”

Amber hummed. “So, how many vampires do you know beside Taehyung?”

Yoongi turned to look at her. “Is this a private interrogation?”

“Depends how you see it,” Amber smiled. “So?”

Yoongi sighed. “The only vampires I know are Taehyung and Junsu. Junsu is Taehyung’s friend as you’ve already heard.”

“And how did you meet him?”

“I was going home,” Yoongi explained, “and some thieves attacked me. Junsu happened to be there and… basically, he killed them all.”

“Damn,” Amber chuckled. “Vampires. Must have been hot as hell to watch.”

Yoongi probably seemed surprised, because Amber explained, “I’ve seen Taehyung fighting. The speed, the grace, the movements… I’m into martial arts myself, but this… this is something else.”

“It is,” Yoongi agreed and drew a deep breath. The cold December air prickled in his nose and made his head a lot clearer.

“And what happened next?” Amber continued with the questions.

“Next… ah, with Junsu. We… well, he sent me home and we talked and he mentioned that he was a vampire and… two days later I found out that he had got me a job at Taehyung’s.”

“How did you take it? I mean him being a vampire?”

Yoongi shrugged. “At first I thought he was joking. Or I had been drank too much. But then… well, I was certainly sober enough and he was certainly not a human being, so I kind of… accepted it.“

Amber nodded. “Have you seen him after this?”

“No. At the mor-”

Yoongi cut himself off. He had wanted to say “at the morning after”, but it would have given Amber too much information about the possible nature of their activities at the night before. He was not ashamed of this, far from it, but he had no wish to discuss his sex life with someone he had just met.

“He got a phone call,” Yoongi said instead, “something about the hunters and a vampire named Jaejoong who was in danger. Then he had to go and I’ve not seen him after this.”

The man had a suspicion Amber had caught on some things he did not tell, but the other said nothing.

“I thought to send you home,” Amber finally admitted, “with Jimin and Jungkook. But they would probably protest – especially Jungkook – and you… you’re not afraid of vampires, are you?”

“Depends on the vampire I guess,” Yoongi replied, a little confused about the sudden change of subject. “I’m not afraid of Taehyung or Junsu. Or Taemin, since yesterday.”

“Are you afraid of a vampire biting you?”

Yoongi was glad the surroundings were dark enough to conceal his blush. “No. Why?”

Of course he was afraid. He remembered well enough how Junsu had bitten him, the adrenaline rush and the fear singing in his veins with a delightful pain-pleasure. He had studied the bite mark for a long time after Junsu had gone, and had discovered that the vampire had missed his jugular with less than a centimetre. The thought still made pleasant shivers run all over his body. Yes, he was afraid. That was the main point of it.

Amber shrugged. “Just wondering. I’ve done some research about the vampires over the time I’ve known Taehyung. If we don’t find him before the hunters have taken him to the church we may have some trouble with getting Taemin in. But that’s a problem for another day.”

The woman looked at Yoongi. “I’ll go now and let you sleep in the car. You can turn the heater on. If you want to, I’ll leave this door here open for you, but don’t go anywhere else. And lock the car doors. The neighbourhood isn’t especially friendly.”

Yoongi could not sleep. His brief intervals of rest were interrupted by nightmares which became weirder and scarier, as the night was gradually fading into early morning. At some point his headache had grew so strong again that he crept back into the warehouse and asked some painkillers from Junior who was still awake. At least Hoseok had ended his interrogation and the lights were out, only a soft glow from the nearby billboard illuminating the room through a window. Heechul’s limp body was half-lying on the chair, his head pulled back and a nasty-looking scar decorating his left cheek. Taemin was up and whispering something with Jungkook. The others were sleeping.

Junior noticed Yoongi throwing quick glances at Heechul.

“Don’t worry, he’s alive,” the man scoffed. “Didn’t say anything besides screaming and cursing. When Hobi called him with his real name he seemed to crack, but then – nothing. And Leeteuk told us not to leave any permanent or lethal injuries, so it narrowed down our possibilities quite a bit.”

“And what are you going to do with him now?”

Junior shifted on his mat to find more comfortable position. “We’ll leave him like this till morning. And then we’ll give him another round to warm him up a bit before Leeteuk arrives.”

Yoongi nodded gingerly and thanked Junior for the painkillers. He did not want to hear any more.

“Hey,” Taemin called out quietly as Yoongi was heading out again. “How’re you feeling?”

Yoongi sat next to the vampire and still awake Jungkook. “Shitty. You?”

Jungkook only shrugged. Taemin smiled wryly.

“I’ve been better,” the vampire whispered. “Physically I’m okay, of course, but otherwise… yeah. I… I think I shouldn’t have killed those bodyguards.”

Yoongi looked into the vampire’s black eyes. They seemed to glow dimly in the darkness. “Taemin-ssi – sorry, I mean Taemin-hyung –, you did what you thought best at the moment.”

Taemin sighed softly. “Jaejoong-hyung would be disappointed.”

“He would understand, I’m sure.”

Taemin smiled again but it was not any happier than before.

“You want to sleep here or in the car?” he asked Yoongi after a short pause, seemingly intent to drop the topic.

Yoongi rubbed his temples carefully. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t think I’ll get any sleep.”

“Do you want to?”

“Sleep?” Yoongi stared the other confusedly. “Of course.”

“Lay down,” Taemin instructed him. “Come closer. Now close your eyes.”

Yoongi did as asked and felt Taemin gently touching his head. A hand brushed over his neck, shoulders and back, and with the soft touch came the heavy feeling of a blanket being laid over him. But instead of suffocating, the vampire’s presence grounded him, slowly taking over his anxious mind and lulling him into a comfortable blackness. It was cool and damp, like an old cellar deep below some abandoned castle or a pile of decaying leaves under a broken tree.

“I thought it would work with you,” Taemin whispered. “I felt like you’d be the type to actually enjoy this kind of thing, rather than being afraid.”

Yoongi hummed sleepily. “‘s nice. Soft ‘n’ quiet. Smells like… old leaves in the autumn.”

And it reminded him Junsu.

No, Yoongi was definitely not some damsel in distress, crying after his faraway lover. And over the last month he certainly had not thought of Junsu all the time. Just, sometimes he found himself missing his vampire out of blue.

 _His_ vampire? Since when had he started referring to Junsu as _his_ vampire? Was he too attached? He did not want to be too attached. He did not want to depend on anyone. Junsu was his own person and Yoongi was his own person and he had no right to…

Taemin chuckled and touched Yoongi’s temple. “I can’t read your mind, but I can hear you thinking. Stop it. Sleep now.”

Yoongi drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. And then everything went blank.

“Leeteuk has arrived.”

Yoongi turned his head towards the car door. Jackson was standing there, almost as cheerful as usual, but the tiredness was starting to catch up even with him.

The morning had been rather uneventful – at least compared to the night before. Yoongi had been woken up by Taemin pretty early and with Jimin and Jungkook they had collectively decided to sit in the car and skip the next interrogation. At some point Jackson had joined them and taken them to a small drive-in where they had bought plenty of fast food. Not that any of the three was in the mood for eating. Jackson had disappeared inside the warehouse with most of the food, leaving the others in the car. Yoongi had tried to force something down his throat, because he knew logically that he needed the energy. Jungkook was listlessly picking at his ramen and Jimin had flat out refused to eat anything.

Now, only a moment ago, a black Bugatti had stopped in front of the warehouse, right next to them. Yoongi did not see any passengers, because of the black-tinted windows, but he was fairly sure the car was Leeteuk’s.

“Wanna join us again?” Jackson asked. “Cinderella is still not very co-operative, but maybe Leeteuk can make him talk for once.”

Yoongi was not keen on going inside and Jungkook seemed to hesitate as well, but Jimin nodded firmly.

“We’ll come,” he said, grabbing Jungkook’s hand. “Yoongi-hyung? Please?”

Yoongi looked at the younger. Jimin’s skin was unnaturally pale, almost resembling a vampire, and his eyes were rimmed with red. There was a strange gleam in his bloodshot gaze and Yoongi found himself wondering for how long will Jimin be able to hold on.

“Okay,” he murmured, putting his half-finished ramen aside. “I’ll come with you.”

They were quickly introduced to Leeteuk, the young boss of Geum Saja Pa. Yoongi had expected to see someone more intimidating, but Leeteuk looked elegant and almost dainty at first glance, more like a well-mannered son of some rich chaebol than the leader of a mafia syndicate. He smiled to them politely and bowed for a greeting, before turning to Hoseok.

“Okay,” he said, “let’s go. I guess Cinderella hasn’t said anything yet.”

Hoseok nodded guiltily. “I tried my best, but I had to balance between inflicting as much pain as possible and keeping him conscious. And you forbade any serious injuries.”

“I did,” Leeteuk agreed, stepping into the warehouse. Eunhyuk was holding the door open for him. “Well, let’s see what we can do. Cinderella can be… unpleasantly stubborn, as you’ve already noticed.”

Yoongi was a bit afraid to look at Heechul again, but the man was sitting exactly as Yoongi had last saw him, his head tilted back and eyes closed in a relaxed expression. The scar on his left cheek had started to bruise, but apart from that he looked as if he was having a nice afternoon nap. He flinched a bit when Leeteuk neared the chair, but did not move otherwise.

“Cinderella.”

Eyes snapped open. Heechul stared at the boss, a corner of his mouth curling upwards.

“Nice to meet you,” he drawled. “Haven’t seen you for a long time… my dear Park Jeongsu.”

Leeteuk opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but closed it again with a cough. Heechul smirked.

“Ah, I see it makes you uncomfortable. Hearing your own name. Should have thought, Jeongsu-ah, before you told mine to your little minions. At least I haven’t told anything to U-Know… yet.”

Leeteuk – Jeongsu – scoffed. “Go and tell all you want. But first you’ll tell me where’s V or you won’t live long enough to see any of your members again.”

Heechul laughed. “So you’ll kill me? Come on, Jeongsu-ah, save the bullshit.”

“Where is V?”

“The hell I know? Who do you think I am? Your vampire’s babysitter?”

Jeongsu’s mouth twitched. “Where. Is. V?”

“You didn’t hear me? The. Hell. I. Know. Want me to repeat again?”

“Shut up!” Jeongsu snapped. “You think I’m an idiot?”

“Well, if you put it that way… I already had my suspicions, but now you’re kind of confirming them.”

Jeongsu took a deep breath. “J-Hope, come here.”

Heechul smirked. “What, too much of a coward to hit me yourself?”

Jeongsu stepped closer to Heechul until their knees were almost touching. The latter tilted his head back, a dirty grin playing on his lips.

“Now, that’s quite an interesting position. I had no idea you were into bondage… ah!”

Jeongsu had slapped Heechul across the cheek. Hard.

Heechul blinked his eyes, startled at first, but a teasing smirk was quickly creeping over his face once again.

“Hit me baby one more time,” he half-sang in a heavily accented English and burst into laughter.

Someone snorted.

Yoongi turned around to see Jimin who was holding both hands over his mouth, eyes big with fear. When everyone’s gaze fell on him, he shrunk into himself, cheeks rapidly reddening.

“Sorry,” he muttered, words muffled by his palms. “I… just… sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Ah, don’t apologise, babe.” Heechul winked at him. “I know I have a wonderful sense of humour. By the way, you look lovely when you blush.”

“Cinderella.” Jeongsu had regained his composure. “I don’t…”

“What, Jeongsu-ah?” Heechul interrupted him. “I thought we were already on a first-name basis.”

“Heechul,” Jeongsu started again. “I wanted to…”

“Heechul,” the man in question mocked. “Why so cold, Jeongsu- _ah_?”

Jeongsu kneeled, so that he was face to face with Heechul. “Heechul-ah, Heechullie, Hee-ah, whatever. If you know where V is, tell me now and we’ll let you go.”

“And if I won’t?”

Jeongsu sighed and rose to his feet. “J-Hope.”

“Why should I tell you anything?” Heechul asked before Hoseok could step further. “First, you send hunters to Hero. Then you tell my name to your bloody thugs. My name, first and last name and everything! Didn’t want to give my address as well? Why the fuck should I tell you anything?”

“What the…” Junior whispered so quietly that not Jeongsu nor Heechul could hear him. “I didn’t know anything about the hunters.”

“Me neither,” Donghae answered. “Eunhyuk, you?”

“Nope. And I bet V didn’t, too. He would have been really pissed.”

Jeongsu closed his eyes and massaged his temples. “We sent hunters to Hero, because you guys ruined that deal with those Daelim dudes and got five of my men killed. And I don’t give a shit about your name when my man’s life is…”

A sudden crash was heard and a moment later the glass shards that had once been a window clattered down, narrowly missing Yoongi’s head. Something – or rather some _one_ – fell on the floor. Eunhyuk and Jackson fired shots, but were knocked out cold before they could cock their guns again. Amber rushed to her unconscious friends. Jimin screamed.

“Shoot him!” Jeongsu ordered at the same time when Heechul called, “Hero!”, and Jungkook exclaimed, “Oh man holy shit, it’s Jaejoong-hyung!”

The newcomer turned to them. “Jungkook? Jimin? Taemin? What are you doing here?”

So he was the Jaejoong whom Taehyung and Taemin had talked about, Yoongi thought. Graceful stance, golden hair, delicate features, face as pretty as girl’s… except his eyes which were dark red and sharp as a knife.

“Jaejoong?” Hoseok echoed the name Jungkook had uttered. “You want to say that your friend – that _V’s friend_ – is Hero of Dal Yong Pa?”

Jungkook looked at Jaejoong with big confused doe eyes. “Hyung, you’re in Dal Yong Pa?”

Heechul looked even more shocked. “Hyung, you’re friends with the vampire of Bam Jangmi Pa?”

Jaejoong shrugged. “Yes and yes. Don’t _you_ try to lecture me, Cinderella.”

Heechul snorted, a look of surprise still on his face. “You can use my real name. This bastard,” he pointed his chin towards perplexed Jeongsu, “took the liberty to blab it to everyone. Like sending hunters for you weren’t enough, right when we had the bloody truce!”

“Ooh, a couple fight,” Jaejoong sneered, as Jeongsu finally got his tongue back and defended himself by explaining that only those who were here knew Heechul’s name and most of his men had no clue.

“Wait,” Junior chimed in. “Hyung, you sent hunters to Hero?”

Jeongsu scratched his neck. “It’s… complicated?” he offered. “And Heechul, I wouldn’t have done anything if U-Know’s guys hadn’t fucked up our deal with…”

“Hero wasn’t fucking involved!” Heechul spat. “Check your facts next time, dimwit!”

“Why didn’t we know…” Donghae started, but Amber elbowed him to the ribs.

Jeongsu dismissed Donghae with a flick of his hand. “Ask later. But now I…”

“Interesting,” Jaejoong cut him off, watching the exchange. “Do all your men call you hyung? And question your actions?”

“In my closest circle I believe in horizontal leadership and transparent management,” Jeongsu answered somewhat stiffly.

“And still you take action without telling them,” the vampire remarked. “U-Know would definitely be interested in this… peculiar contradiction. But whatever your motives may be, I have to ask you to untie Heechul and let him go. Unless you want to get rid of your closest circle.”

Yoongi had seen Junsu fighting. He knew Jeongsu’s men – and Amber – would be no match for a vampire. Except if they had enough garlic and silver somewhere. Jeongsu seemed to understand it as well.

“I’ll let him go,” he stated slowly, “but if you are V’s friend, you’re probably interested in the fact that he’s taken by the hunters. That’s why we captured Heechul.”

If looks could kill, Jeongsu and Heechul both would have likely been… crippled, at least. The warehouse was cold as it was, but the bleak December air was nothing compared to the chills caused by Jaejoong’s blazing eyes. Yoongi felt as if a heavy blanket of ice had been cast over him. And by the looks of the others, he was not the only one.

Finally Jaejoong spoke again, his voice low and strained. “If it is true… if something happens to him… I’ll kill U-Know.”

The next hour was only a frantic blur for Yoongi’s still hurting and sleep-deprived head. Jaejoong demanded for Heechul’s immediate release, Jeongsu booked the best rooms in his nearest hotel – he was running an old family business, Yoongi heard, a cover-up for his more light-fearing projects – and in a record time they had left the warehouse, driven to their next destination and gathered together in the biggest suite. A hot bath was run for Heechul and Jaejoong went with him to tend any injuries.

“So,” Amber began, “before these two come back, I think we have some mess to clear up.”

Jeongsu sighed deeply. His relationship with other members was really odd for a mafia boss, Yoongi thought. At least, according to the movie-based gangster stereotypes he had seen. Jeongsu and the other members of Bam Jangmi Pa looked more like a family – a twisted and crazy family.

“Heechul is an old friend,” Jeongsu began. “Or was. I don’t know. We were classmates and got along really well, but as you know, my father was a leader of Bam Jangmi Pa and his mother is one of the masterminds in Dal Yong Pa. I would never betray any of you for the sake of him, but at the same time I… I wanted to leave him out of this thing with V, but he was the quickest way… I knew almost for sure that he was in this pub and I thought that if it really is Dal Yong Pa’s fault, then he would be the quickest way to get at least some information. Of course, I hadn’t seen him for many years and I had already forgotten how stubborn he can be.”

“And what’s it with the vampire hunters?” Eunhyuk asked. Yoongi had heard he was the Dancing Anchovy in Taehyung’s contact list, but he still did not know the man’s real name. Jeongsu continued to call his members by pseudonyms, even if they all, Jaejoong included, knew his own name.

“Revenge for Dal Yong Pa for ruining this deal with Daelim Industrial,” Jeongsu admitted. “My uncle’s demand. The others, of course, went along with it and I had to placate them somehow. If I had refused, they would have grown suspicious, but if I had told you, V could have caught a word about it and I know how much he dislikes the hunters.”

Jimin sniffed quietly and Jungkook hugged him. Taemin inched closer, his fingers drawing random patterns on Jimin’s knee.

Jeongsu looked at the trio. “So, what about V’s friendship with Hero?”

Jungkook blinked his eyes. “I… we…”

“We didn’t know Jaejoong-hyung is in a gang,” Jimin took over. “Actually, we didn’t even know what exactly Taehyung was doing with you guys.” At the mention of Taehyung’s real name, Jeongsu glanced towards the bathroom, but did not stop Jimin. “We knew he was working for some kind of… mafia? Sorry if it sounded offensive. But he is a vampire and they are almost invincible or something… at least we thought so… Tae had only briefly mentioned the hunters and we didn’t even think they would be a threat…” Jimin rubbed his eyes and swallowed a sob. “We only knew that he and Jaejoong-hyung were friends. And Taemin-hyung. And Junsu-ssi.”

“Why is it Jaejoong-hyung and Taemin-hyung, but Junsu-ssi?” Jeongsu went on.

“We have never met Junsu-ssi,” Jimin explained. “Only heard about him from Tae and the hyungs.”

“It isn’t ordinary for vampires to be so close to each other,” Taemin continued. He had changed his blood-stained clothes for the hotel robe and Jeongsu had already ordered new clothes to be delivered to the hotel. “But the four of us are really good friends. I am not so sure what Heechul will do, but I’m absolutely sure that Jaejoong-hyung’s priority right now is to find Taehyung.”

“So, a fellow vampire before his own clan?” Junior piped in.

Taemin sent him a terrifying smile, all sharp teeth and gleaming eyes. “Don’t you ever try to take advantage of it. If you attempt to take us down, I swear to God we will take you with us.”

“No-one’s trying to harm Jaejoong,” Jeongsu pacified the vampire. “At the moment their friendship works in our favour. And later… we’ll find a way to work around it without hurting neither of them.”

Jackson laughed. “Man, this is really fucked up. Why don’t we show up at U-Know’s headquarters and tell him we want to join our forces?”

“There was a time I thought about it,” Jeongsu replied, chuckling at the disgusted look the younger sent him. “It would certainly help dealing with my dear advisors I have grown pretty tired of. But I have no intention to step down from my position and I doubt U-Know will give up his leadership.”

“As much as I know, Jaejoong-hyung has simply avoided the missions where Taehyung has been involved and vice versa,” Taemin joined the conversation again. “I have heard Dal Yong Pa has suspected something, but they don’t know for sure that you have a vampire in your ranks – or at least they didn’t know, it’s up to Heechul now. So Jaejoong-hyung has always found excuses to not deal with Bam Jangmi Pa.”

“And V has flat out refused to fight with another vampire,” Jeongsu contemplated. “Told me Hero would probably be too strong for him. I thought he knew his strength the best and I didn’t want to put him in unnecessary danger.”

Jackson’s fingers glided over the leg of his combat boots. Yoongi was sure he had at least one knife hidden there. “Sorry, hyung, but seems like a treason to me.”

Jeongsu shrugged. “Aside from getting along with Hero, V has done nothing to disprove his loyalty to me. And right now we have to get him back first, then we can deal with him.”

“Deal with him?” Jackson asked incredulously. “A vampire is not someone you can just _deal with_.”

“Aren’t you too lenient towards him?” Junior spoke up. “Okay, I get it when you happened to accidentally befriend someone from a different clan as a child, but an active, constant associating with a member of another clan is something else.”

“And what would you do?” Jeongsu snapped. “Leave V for the hunters? I need a vampire right now. And my own advisors are bigger threat at the moment than the ridiculous idea of V conspiring with Dal Yong Pa.”

“Okay,” Amber cut in, “what will we do now? Tomorrow is our last day to the full moon, as I have understood.”

The nagging fear Yoongi had felt for most of the day had subsided during their conversation, but now it came back full-force, clinging to his heart and making him slightly nauseous. Jimin’s expression crumpled and with a broken whimper he hid his face in Jungkook’s chest. Hoseok pinched his eyes shut and Jackson squeezed his hands into fists. Jeongsu sighed again.

The bathroom door opened and Jaejoong stepped out, hand around Heechul’s waist. The latter was wearing a fluffy bathrobe similar to Taemin’s and looked surprisingly good considering last night.

“We have a plan,” Jaejoong announced, leading Heechul to the king-sized bed and helping him lay down. Okay, maybe the man was in a worse state than he let show. “I’ll call a cab for Heechul and send him to U-Know. He’ll say that I helped him to escape, and try to dig out as much information as possible. Then he’ll call me back and we’ll get into action. What do you think?”

Jeongsu nodded slowly. “If he’s okay to ride a cab.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly okay,” Heechul scoffed. “Your hospitality is nothing short of wonderful.”

“Aww,” Jaejoong cooed at them. “Old friends, for sure…”

Jeongsu ignored the sneer. “Good. Let’s start then.”

Jaejoong retreated to the bathroom to call U-Know – Jeongsu wanted him to stay in the same room with the others, but the vampire shot him an offended glare and asked if Jeongsu was really stupid enough to think he’ll betray Taehyung. Amber insisted on ordering food to the suite while waiting, even if Jimin tearfully announced that he would not eat anyway. After some time, a package came with _two_ sets of clothes – one for Taemin and another for Heechul. Jackson scoffed and Hoseok smirked, but no-one said anything.

Finally, after a good twenty minutes, Jaejoong emerged from the bathroom again.

“So,” the vampire started. “Heechul-ah, your cab should be downstairs at any moment. Ooh, Jeongsu has bought you some clothes! How considerate. Anyway, you better go change quickly. U-Know can’t meet you right now, but you’ll be brought to Max. I gave the driver the right address. And once you’re there, you’ll report me anything you can pry out of him.”

Heechul frowned. “I’d rather pry things out of U-Know. Max has too good nose for sniffing out any bullshit.”

Jaejoong shrugged and offered Heechul a hand to help him out of the bed. “Tough luck. Don’t worry too much, your dear mama won’t let him kill you.”

Heechul let out a helpless laugh. “Man, if my dear mama finds out I’ve been conspiring with those fuckers here, she’ll kill me herself.”

Jaejoong ushered Heechul to bathroom with his new clothes. “Try to stay alive until I’m there. And if _I_ find out that you’ve been conspiring with anyone behind my back…”

He did not finish his sentence, but the look he sent to Heechul spoke loud enough.

“We should weigh other options as well,” Jeongsu stated when Heechul had left and the hotel staff had brought food. There was bulgogi and kimchi jjigae and japchae and hotteok for a dessert and though everyone were worried about Taehyung, they suddenly remembered that they had only had instant ramen for breakfast. Even Jimin, who had swore he had no appetite, eventually gave up to Jungkook’s coaxing and agreed to eat some pancakes, before burying his face in the other’s chest again.

“What other options?” Hoseok asked with his mouth full.

Jeongsu picked on his japchae with chopsticks. “What if the hunters were after Taehyung on their own and weren’t connected to Dal Yong Pa anyhow?” Jaejoong knew Taehyung’s real name anyway, so there was no use for pseudonym at the moment.

“It should have been the first thing to consider, you cabbage-headed waste of space,” Jaejoong huffed. He was checking his phone after every few minutes and gnawing at his lower lip. Sometimes he bit down too hard and drew blood, before the wound closed with a few seconds. The vampire’s blood was almost black and stuck to his lips like a viscous syrup.

“Frankly speaking,” Eunhyuk declared, “then Taehyung’s screwed.”

Jungkook flinched as if been hit. Jimin lifted his head from the younger’s chest and looked at Jeongsu with bleary eyes.

“Can’t you do something?” he asked, voice raw from crying. “How many men do you have? Can’t you send them to every church in Seoul? You can’t… you can’t just sit here and do nothing! Taehyung is the member of Bam Jangmi Pa! He’s working for you! He saved your life once! And now he may be caught because of you! If he dies, it’s as well as your fault!”

Jeongsu looked as on the verge of snapping, but got himself together. “Hyuk, stop with your nonsense. And Jimin-ssi, I have already taken care of things as much as I could while I was driving here at morning. I have sent my men to guard twenty largest churches in Seoul. I have also let some of them who know Taehyung do a little research about vampire hunters. They prefer older churches, I’ve heard, so old cathedrals are being watched particularly well.”

“The ones I have met during the years… the present year included” – Jaejoong side-eyed Jeongsu – “have this belief that church sort of accumulates holiness. I mean, the older it is, the more sacred it is, because every religious act performed in the church sanctifies it. And they prefer churches with proper altar, so I’d recommend watching out for Catholic and Lutheran churches mostly.”

“The altar is needed for a sacrifice,” Taemin whispered into Yoongi’s ear so quietly that Jungkook and Jimin did not hear him.

Yoongi looked into the vampire’s black eyes. There were some red sparkles simmering at the bottom of the night-coloured irises. He had not paid attention to it before, but the skin around Taemin’s eyes had grown a bit darker and gleamed moistly. “You mean… for…”

Taemin nodded.

“Oh, fuck…” Yoongi breathed.

Fortunately Jimin and Jungkook did not notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And… I guess I can not write torture. I initially planned to make the interrogation more explicit and honestly I would have had no problems with describing the actions and physical reactions, but the psychological side of it was the difficult thing. How should the tormentors proceed with their questions? What kind of mind games they use? So I finally decided to gloss over the scene, rather than write it out in an unbelievable manner. But if you happen to know some good fics about mind manipulation during torture, please leave your recommendations in the comments. I would be happy to learn. :D


	4. A Trap

Three hours ticked by in a nervous atmosphere. Jeongsu made a bunch of phone calls, Eunhyuk was texting someone and discussing with Jeongsu something about the security cameras in churches, Hoseok and Amber were sitting together, hunched over the latter’s laptop, and Junior was chatting with Donghae about weapons. Jackson had ordered bandages, disinfectant, scalpels and surgical thread and was now putting together a first-aid kit, completed with tweezers, tourniquets, a surgical suture and a set of needles he had fetched from Hoseok’s car. Jaejoong was pacing the room and constantly glancing at his phone.

Taemin had at some point got up from the couch and was now sitting on a windowsill, eyes trained to the busy afternoon traffic of Seoul. And Jimin was curled up in Jungkook’s embrace, his crying reduced to occasional sobs every now and then. The youngest did his best to put up a brave front, but it was starting to crumble. Yoongi had no idea how to console him, but he felt like he should do something, so he sat next to Jungkook and put an arm around his shoulders. The boy drew in a shaky breath at that, eyes filling with tears, and for a moment Yoongi was scared he had made things worse, but then Jungkook rested his head against Yoongi’s cheek and whispered “Thanks, hyung”, so maybe it was all right.

Suddenly Jaejoong stilled on his tracks and drew in a sharp breath. Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

“I got a message from Heechul,” Jaejoong announced and held a dramatic pause.

“Read it, hyung!” Jungkook urged the vampire. “What does he say?”

“Under Seongsan Bridge, next to 7-Eleven. At 7:30 pm.” Jaejoong pocketed his phone. “Let’s go, better early than late.”

“Wait, wait.” Jeongsu held his hand up. “Who will be there at 7:30?”

Jaejoong let out a tired sigh. “I have absolutely no idea. Want me to call Max and demand an explanation?”

“What if it is a trap?”

The vampire shrugged. “I’ll take them down.”

“And if there are hunters as well?”

“Then I’ll die with you. Satisfied?”

Jeongsu shook his head. “Fuck, I don’t like it at all.”

Jaejoong sat on the couch arm and run a hand through his golden hair. “Look, at the moment I want you alive. Because I want Taehyung alive. What will happen to you afterwards is not my concern, but right now I’m not trying to lure you to death.”

“I’m more concerned about Heechul. And Max.”

Jaejoong rose again. “Okay, do what you want. I’m going. Who’s with me?”

Jeongsu massaged his temples. “Okay. Okay, okay. We’ll go. And meanwhile you’ll try to get as much info as possible.”

Jaejoong scoffed. “Obviously.”

They got into Hoseok’s SUV again. Only now Amber took the passenger seat and Jackson with Jimin and Jungkook occupied the middle seats. So Yoongi was at the rear, sandwiched between two vampires – Jaejoong refused to go with Jeongsu and the others. The older vampire was on his phone again. There was a strange tension between Jaejoong and Taemin, but Yoongi could not exactly put his finger on it.

“Hey!” Jaejoong suddenly called out. “Somebody call Leeteuk and tell that he was right – these were our men who sent hunters to Taehyung.”

Jackson turned on his seat to look at the vampire. “And?”

Jaejoong glanced at the glowing screen. “Max will probably contact Leeteuk soon and tell him to go exactly to the same place Heechul sent me before. They’re not interested in killing Taehyung.”

“Why the fuck did they…”

“Don’t interrupt me,” Jaejoong cut the man off. “Heechul wrote that U-Know wants to talk to Leeteuk – don’t ask me why – and they captured Taehyung in order to make sure that the negotiations will go smoothly. Also, they want money.”

“Fuck,” Jackson swore. “How much?”

“No idea. Up to negotiation, I guess – wait, I’ve got a call.”

Jaejoong answered the phone. “Hi, Ju- yes, sorry, I’ve changed my number again… Taehyung is captured… yes, really, the hunters… yes, I know… we’ll meet somebody soon… Seongsan Bridge, next to 7-Eleven… yes, yes, we’re on our way… be careful. No, don’t go alone… it’s between us and Bam Jangmi Pa. Yes, wait for us… okay… bye.”

Jackson looked at the vampire intently. “Well?”

“Not Heechul. But a pleasant company nonetheless… if you’re interested in more vampires, of course.”

“Junsu-hyung?” Taemin asked.

Junsu? Yoongi’s head whipped towards Taemin, but a second later a sharp pain flashed behind his brow. “Ow.”

Jaejoong threw Yoongi a worried glance, but continued. “He was at Taehyung’s bookstore, found it empty and saw the mess there. We’ll meet him at Seongsan Bridge, he said he’ll be there soon.”

A relieved smile washed over Taemin’s face. “Good.” The grin turned teasing. “At least a decent fighter with us if things should get messy.”

“Hey!” Jaejoong exclaimed. “Speak for yourself! I am quite a decent fighter as well.”

“ _Quite_ a decent,” Taemin stressed.

Jaejoong laughed. “You little shit!”

Yoongi tuned out their banter. Junsu was going to be there. _Junsu_ was going to be there.

The ache in his head faded into a dull throbbing again. Yoongi touched his neck, the almost-healed indents of Junsu’s teeth, and felt a comforting warmness spread all over him. He smiled softly and closed his eyes. Dark eyes watched him from his memories and a faint echo of a high-pitched laughter was ringing in his ears.

“Hey, Yoongi-ah, back to earth!”

Yoongi opened his eyes and looked at Taemin’s smirking face. The vampire’s grin was suspiciously smug.

Yoongi rubbed his eyes. “Are we there?”

“Very soon.” Taemin sounded as if he was terribly amused with something. “I would have never thought you’d look so lovely while asleep. You see, most of the time you have this resting bitch face, as if you were pissed with the whole world.”

Yoongi grumbled something intelligible.

Taemin laughed. “What?”

“I was sleeping?” Yoongi blinked his eyes slowly.

The vampire nodded. “And you were smiling in your sleep. And touching your neck and… oh my, is this a bite mark? Aww!”

Yoongi’s face went crimson. “Shut up.”

“Oh.” It was Jaejoong who seemed to have realised something. “You’re _that_ human boy.”

Yoongi scrunched his nose. “I’m a grown-ass man, thank you very much.”

The golden-haired vampire laughed gleefully. “Yeah, I’m sure Junsu can attest to that.” The voice turned pouty. “He won’t tell me any juicy details, though. What a tease.”

Yoongi closed his eyes. “Yeah, sorry, neither will I.”

“Hey!” It was Taemin again. “Don’t fall asleep, we’re almost there.”

The first thing that hit Yoongi was the smell. Not the familiar mix of car fumes and grill smoke and coffee and fast food he had grown to associate with the Han River. Not even the nasty concoction of ammonia and sulphur from the sewers when the weather had been too hot. No, it smelt like vomit and rotten meat and something Yoongi could not even name, but it made him wanting to throw up. And above all was the strong iron stench of blood.

“Dear God and all the saints,” Taemin whispered. Yoongi saw the vampire’s elongated canines glinting in a dim street light. “What the everloving fuck has happened here?”

Jimin had climbed out of the car and was standing very still with a faraway look on his face, as if in a daze. And Jungkook’s doe eyes were bigger than Yoongi had ever seen.

There were a few cars parked haphazardly near the bridge. One of them was halfway in the water, the windows were smashed and a head was limply hanging out from the driver’s side. It was difficult to see for Yoongi’s human eyes, but half of the driver’s face seemed to be gone. Some mutilated bodies were lying here and there. But under the bridge, hidden from the eyes of random passers-by, was a literal pile of bloody corpses.

The brakes screeched as Jeongsu’s car stopped next to them. The boss hopped out, Eunhyuk, Donghae and Junior in tow, and looked at the gory sight with bewildered eyes.

“Guns,” he ordered quietly. “Be ready to shoot. It’s a trap.”

“Oh, it was. But not any more, as far as I’m concerned.”

All heads turned to the new voice. It sounded from somewhere behind the disgusting pile.

“Who are you?” Jeongsu shouted. “Show yourself! Hands up or I’ll shoot!”

“Oh no, you won’t.” The voice was amused now. Jaejoong snickered.

“Show yourself!” Jeongsu ordered again. He tried to sound firm and composed, but there was a slight falter in his voice.

“Junsu-ah, stop with the theatrics!” Jaejoong called out. “I’m here with Taemin! Come out!”

There was a slight movement, some strange noises and then Yoongi saw the vampire. He appeared from behind the corpses, the slender silhouette dark at night, the long tail of his torn coat flowing behind him. As he came closer, Yoongi saw that he was drenched with blood from head to toe. He was limping slightly and cradling his left hand close to chest. But he held his head high, his eyes were glowing red and his smile was bright and terrifying. Yoongi was sure he was not the only one who shivered at the sight. But he was probably the only one who felt such a sudden rush of lust mixing with his fear.

“What happened, hyung?” Taemin asked.

“Hi, Taemin-ah, hi Jaejoong-hyung,” Junsu laughed and just with this bright boyish laughter the ghastly spellbound was gone and Yoongi felt his heart exploding with warmth. He was happy to see Junsu again, that was all.

And probably a little horny, because oh those fangs, those knife-sharp fangs still dripping with blood…

“To be honest, I don’t know what exactly happened,” Junsu confessed, adjusting the black leather bag over his shoulder. “I came here and saw a bunch of men gathered under the bridge. Then I walked closer – I tried not to alert them, but I wasn’t exactly hiding either. Anyway, when I came closer, I smelt garlic and sneezed. And then one of them run to me and threw a handful of minced garlic at me.” Junsu’s blood-red lips curled in a sneer. “I had taken some nose plugs with me, just in case, so I backed off a bit, put the plugs in and attacked, of course. The others came to defend the man. I tried to ask them who they were – I have a horrible feeling there’s quite a lot of Dal Yong Pa’s underlings here –, but they were not interested in a nice and civil conversation, so… yeah. I don’t exactly fancy being suffocated with garlic and burnt with silver, you know.”

Taemin gasped. “Hyung, you… you killed them all?”

“I don’t believe it,” Jaejoong spoke up. “That you alone killed them, that is. I mean, you are an exceptionally good fighter, I give you this, but there’s fifty men or even more. And some of them were hunters. With silver weapons, I guess.”

“There was…” Junsu was hesitating. “There was a vampire.”

“A vampire?”

Junsu shrugged. “Don’t ask me who. He just… at some point he jumped into the middle of the fight, took down a bunch of humans, fed and left. That’s all.”

Jaejoong hummed. “Interesting.”

Jeongsu turned to him. “You have any idea who he might have been? And on whose side?”

Jaejoong shook his head. “No idea. I have met some vampires in Seoul besides those two and Taehyung, but I don’t know anything for sure.”

Jeongsu nodded. “And why did U-Know – or Max – sent around fifty men to this so-called negotiation? Maybe you’d happen to know this?”

Jaejoong looked at him with a mocking sneer. “And why are your men hiding around the bridge, holding us on gunpoint? You think I didn’t notice?”

Jeongsu snorted. “Fair enough. But why the hunters? I mean, Taehyung is already taken.”

Jaejoong gnawed at his lip. “I think Heechul told Max more than he should have… or Max sniffed out more than he should have. Maybe he came to the conclusion that I’m with you and wanted to get me away from the negotiations.”

“And he sent the hunters for his own vampire?”

Jaejoong laughed. “You don’t know Max. And I am no-ones _own_ _vampire_ , remember that.”

Jeongsu sighed. “So…”

“I don’t think they were here for any kind of negotiations,” Junsu spoke up. “I heard them talking before they noticed me. They talked something about capturing some guy named… Leeteuk? Sounds familiar?”

Jeongsu looked at him sharply. “That’s me.”

Junsu raised his eyebrows. “The boss of Bam Jangmi Pa? Am I correct?”

Jeongsu nodded. “Was it all you heard? Something else?”

“Some snippets about keeping you alive for U-Know, but… then I sneezed and they saw me.”

“Okay.” Jeongsu sighed again and pressed his fingers to his temples. “Thank you, Junsu-ssi. But now we’re back in square one. With finding Taehyung, I mean.”

Yoongi heard a muffled sob next to him. Jimin or Jungkook. Probably Jimin. He carefully kept from looking at them, because he was afraid he might break down otherwise. His headache had came back again, he was tired and felt like screaming with a hopeless frustration. They had already wasted so many hours!

“Wait.” Jaejoong took his phone. “I got a message.”

The vampire looked at the screen and let out an ominous growl. Yoongi felt the hairs at his nape rising and shivers running down his spine.

“I didn’t get your call, so I assume you managed to escape from the hunters,” Jaejoong read out loud. “Dal Yong Pa has nothing to do with the capture of V. Good luck finding him. But you, hyung, have some serious explaining to do. Looking forward to our meeting. Max.”

Jaejoong ground his teeth together and dialled the number. Jimin sobbed again and Yoongi stubbornly kept his gaze at the small glowing screen between the vampire’s slender fingers. He was not going to cry, he was not going to scream, he was not…

“Max,” Jaejoong growled into the phone. “What the fuck does this mean?”

Yoongi did not hear the answer, but Jaejoong’s face twisted in anger.

“Listen to me, you little bastard,” he hissed. “I don’t give a shit about the rest of those Bam Jangmi Pa morons, but if V is with our men and someone as much as lays a finger on him… I swear to all the gods and devils there may ever be, I won’t rest before I find and kill each and every human being who has ever been in Dal Yong Pa.”

Max said something and Jaejoong laughed at that.

“Yeah, good luck with stopping me,” he mocked. “You know as much as I do that it’s me who has helped U-Know to where he is. And it can very well be me who’ll take him down.”

There was a longer pause and Jaejoong’s face smoothed out a bit.

“I’m not conspiring with Bam Jangmi Pa,” he said more calmly. “I just want to know where V is. Help me find him and I’ll… no? Oh, well, then tell U-Know that I’m taking a break from the business. No… not for long, only for a few centuries. Yeah, fuck you too.”

The vampire turned to the others. “Taehyung’s not with Dal Yong Pa. At least that’s what Max said.”

“And if Max lied?” It was Jeongsu.

“I hope it, actually,” Jaejoong admitted. “Then they would keep him alive… to keep me in line. But if he’s not… Well, Max said that he didn’t know anything about Taehyung and was just using the golden opportunity to capture you and cause some trouble to Bam Jangmi Pa.”

“Fuck,” Jeongsu spat behind gritted teeth.

A dull thud sounded next to them, followed by a panicked cry. When Yoongi finally turned to look, he saw that Jungkook had been fainted and Jimin was kneeling beside his head, patting his cheeks. Yoongi stepped closer to help them, but Taemin was quicker.

“Shock, probably,” Amber observed. “Anyway, we have nothing to do here. Let’s go back to hotel and think what to do next. And oppa,” that was said to Jeongsu, “if I were you, I’d send as many men as possible to guard the churches. It may be what Dal Yong Pa wants to shake us off, but… fuck, we have no other choice.”

Jeongsu gave her a curt nod. “Done already. And more will be coming tomorrow.”

“The day Taehyung dies by the hands of Dal Yong Pa,” Jaejoong growled, “will be the beginning of the end for Dal Yong Pa.”

Somehow Yoongi did not doubt the vampire’s words the slightest. But it was a poor consolation. Taehyung was still taken, they were running in circles, it all was a big fucking mess and…

“Yoongi? It’s you?”

Yoongi turned to Junsu. The vampire was now right in front of him, looking at him with a surprise.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Yoongi tried to feign nonchalance. “Thought you’d already forgotten how I look like. You know, with your eighty-three years and all.”

“Brat.” Junsu smiled softly at him and touched his face with a blood-speckled finger. His arm seemed to be healed already; at least he was not holding it as carefully as before. “I was afraid they had taken you with Taehyung or something worse.”

Yoongi tried to hold it back, he really did. But he was tired and his head hurt and all the exhaustion and anxiety from the last two days blurred together with the joy of seeing Junsu again and he could not do anything against the trembling of his lips and the lump in his throat and the tears that slowly began to fill up his eyes.

Now there was concern in Junsu’s gentle gaze. “Yoongi-ah? Please don’t… What should I do?”

Yoongi gave up. He pressed his face against Junsu’s shoulder, blood and all, clutched at the vampire’s tattered coat and cried for the first time since Taehyung’s capture. Junsu’s arms and hands were cold, but they fitted really nice around him. And his quiet whispers fell over Yoongi like the first snow of the winter.

The rest of the evening was miserable. Jungkook was unnaturally silent, talking only to Jimin. Jimin himself was near hysterics, despite Taemin’s and Jaejoong’s efforts to console him. Eunhyuk was a nervous wreck, Donghae glared at everyone, Junior and Hoseok were fighting with each other, Amber was shouting at them to stop and Jackson cursed at everyone who happened to be on his way. Finally, Jeongsu threatened to shoot someone if they did not calm down at this instant – the threat was taken with a surprising seriousness, considering the young boss’s generally laid-back attitude – and gathered his members plus Jaejoong for a meeting. Taemin went with Jimin and Jungkook to their room, Junsu headed for the shower and Yoongi promptly passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. At least his headache had began to wane again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter was short, but hey, Junsu is finally here! Cue to… some recreational bedroom activities with a side of fluff, drama and light angst.


	5. The Night Before the Full Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally finished the entire fic! I still have to proof-read the later chapters, but I decided to shorten the time between uploads, because I'm too impatient. The next chapter will be up whenever I've had the time to re-read it, but definitely sooner than after a week.  
> Anyway, here's some smut for you. :P

“It was him, wasn’t he?”

Jaejoong’s voice. The vampire was talking in a hushed tone, as if trying not to wake someone up.

Yoongi heard Junsu sigh. “How did you figure that out, hyung?”

The bed dipped and there was a rustling of the sheets. “You have been off all night. And it’s not only Taehyung being taken, I can tell.”

Silence. Slowly Yoongi grew more alert. The meeting was probably over if Jaejoong was back already. And he had apparently fallen asleep in his clothes. The jeans felt a bit uncomfortable.

“Yes,” Junsu said at last and his voice was strangely void of anything. “Yes, it was him. He… hyung, he just looked at me and left. Without a word.”

Jaejoong let out an angry scoff. “You know what I think of him.”

Junsu did not answer.

“But you have this pretty human boy? Yoongi?”

“Yeah,” the younger vampire breathed quietly and, all of a sudden, Yoongi was very much awake.

“Is he serious?” Jaejoong prodded. “Or just for fun?”

Yoongi willed his breathing to be even. He definitely should not have been eavesdropping like that, but he could not stop it now. The pause was long. Too long.

“You should tell him,” Jaejoong finally said and Yoongi would have given everything to see Junsu’s face right now.

“Nah, let him be. I don’t want him to… I’m afraid… I guess all this vampire stuff is quite overwhelming already.”

Jaejoong snickered teasingly. “Aww, you’re so sweet, Junsu-yah!”

“Shut up, hyung,” the younger muttered and Yoongi did not know if he should have been happy or not.

“He reminds me of… of him,” Junsu spoke again in a low voice after a while. “A similar… sadness? Kind of. I don’t know.”

“Well…” the other’s voice was strained, as if he was trying to hold himself back, “what can I say? You have always been drawn to lost souls, aren’t you? More than it’s good for you.”

“Guess so. After all, I’m friends with you, hyung, aren’t I?”

“Brat,” Jaejoong laughed. “Don’t worry about me, I’m good.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Junsu drawled flippantly. “Especially after a night of binge drinking and sleeping around.”

Jaejoong snorted. “Speaking about sleeping, Junsu-yah – about _that_ kind of sleeping –, I’d recommend you to use your time wisely and wake your lovely human up. He can sleep tomorrow in the car if he wants to, but you can’t bang him in there… unless you’re into watching or…”

“Shut up!” Junsu exclaimed. “Get out of my room, you horndog!”

“Aaand…” Jaejoong quieted for a second, “seems like you have successfully woken him up.”

“Get out of my room!” Junsu shouted again.

The mattress was moving a bit, as Jaejoong stood up. “Have fun, you two! Sleep well!”

“Idiot!” Junsu muttered, but his tone was laced with affection. The corner of Yoongi’s mouth quirked upwards. Whatever was Junsu’s wordless answer to Jaejoong’s question, right now Yoongi had nothing against the older vampire’s definition of sleeping.

“Sorry if you’re up,” Junsu whispered when the door had closed. “Jaejoong-hyung is an ass sometimes.”

“’s alright,” Yoongi drawled sleepily. “Really good-looking ass, by the way. But I like yours better.”

Junsu was quiet for a second and then he burst into laughter. Oh, how Yoongi had missed this throaty, contagious sound! But instead of admitting it he smirked cheekily and commented, “Hyung, you have a voice like a dog that has caught cold.”

“Yah!” Junsu yelled, still laughing. “Respect your elders, you little brat!”

Yoongi yawned and turned over, facing the other. Junsu had put on a new shirt, he noticed. White and silken, just as the one in which he had seen the vampire for the very first time. Two top buttons were open and delicate collarbones were peaking out from behind the lace. “Make me to shut up then.”

It was horribly cheesy, he had to admit. But his sleepy brain apparently did not have a filter.

The room was dim, only the nearly-full moon occasionally peeking through the lacy clouds, but the scatters of Junsu’s expressions that Yoongi managed to catch were nevertheless a sight to see. His cheerful laughter stilled and gave way to the almost comical look of surprise, dark eyes wide and mouth dropped open. Then it was gone as a flicker of wind, morphed into feral grin, white teeth full on display. His canines seemed to grow and sharpen a bit, his eyes turned into thin slits and Yoongi could have sworn that even in the relative darkness he saw something red flashing in the vampire’s gaze. The human felt a cold, thrilling shiver running down his spine.

“You’d like it, wouldn’t you?” Junsu’s voice was soft as velvet, but there was a low rumble underneath. “You, pinned down under me, like a helpless prey? I’d rip off those flimsy excuses of clothes and bite you again and again… and again. I want to devour you wholly, to feel your soft skin between my teeth and the blood throbbing in your veins until you don’t know if you should beg me to stop or to continue for ever. And then, when you wake up at the morning, all your skin would be covered with my marks. You’d feel me for days _all over_ your body.”

Yoongi tried to give some witty remark for an answer, but all he could do was to watch Junsu, his eyes wide open, as the vampire’s presence draped over him like a dark blanket. Junsu was slow and fluid, moving as a deep river would flow in a quiet night. Cold fingers tangled themselves into Yoongi’s hair, a leather-clad leg was thrown over his hips and then Junsu was straddling him, crimson stars dancing in the pitch-black pupils. Waves of fear-like bliss and chilly sweetness rolled over Yoongi and he knew that any normal human being would have been afraid, but he could only feel excitement and lust coursing through him, even if he was unable to move an arm or a leg. And there was something else as well, but Yoongi did not want to think about it.

Maybe they should not have been doing it, with Taehyung captured and all. But Yoongi was tired of worrying, tired of being afraid, tired of the near-constant anxiety of the last two days. He wanted to feel good, just for a while. And Junsu was right there, lust simmering in his dark, dark eyes and a promising smile gracing his beautiful face.

Junsu bowed down, looming over the human, and stroked his burning cheeks with cold fingers. Yoongi tried to look at the other, tried to force his eyes open and etch this marble-white face into his mind forever, but the soft darkness covering him had turned nearly suffocating and made his lids droop.

Suddenly the heavy cloud was lifted from him and Junsu looked at him with an apologetic concern.

“Sorry.” A flash of guilt flickered over the vampire’s face. “I… it’s almost automatic, I didn’t think…”

“’s alright,” Yoongi mumbled dazedly. “I kind of like it… when it’s not too heavy.”

Safe. It was a big part of this “something else” he felt. With Junsu above him, watching him with reddening eyes, with the ghostly allure the vampire seemed to exude even without trying to, he felt safer and more content than anywhere else. For some weird reason it reminded Yoongi home.

Junsu ducked down and pressed a light kiss on Yoongi’s cheek. Cool tongue danced over the little scrapes on the man’s face and when Junsu’s mouth pressed closer, Yoongi could feel the vampire’s elongated fangs against his skin. A delightful warmth began to swirl in his belly. He turned his head to finally meet the other in proper kiss, but Junsu took his sweet time. He scattered feathery pecks over Yoongi’s face, nibbled the man’s earlobe and licked the tip of his nose. Yoongi huffed a breathless laugh at this and Junsu smiled at him, eyes lighting up with warmth and tongue flicking over pale red lips.

Then, at last, Junsu brushed his lips over Yoongi’s. The latter could not help a small moan escaping from his throat and Junsu hummed lowly at that, pressing their mouths together more insistently. After a while he pulled back a little, licked Yoongi’s lower lip and gently bit into it.

“You’re so beautiful,” the vampire murmured against Yoongi’s mouth. “I wanted to see you so badly, but there was this trouble with Jaejoong-hyung and the hunters and I was afraid you’d get involved.” He snorted softly. “Well, now you’re in this mess anyway.”

Yoongi curled his hand around the other’s neck, scratching the shorter hair on Junsu’s nape, and pulled his head down again. “Less talking, hyung, and more kissing.”

Junsu chuckled airily. “Don’t rush, my little human. We have the whole night.”

Yoongi flicked his tongue over the corner of Junsu’s mouth. “I remember someone saying something about ripping off my clothes and biting me. Did I hear that correctly?”

“I hope do it some time and much more as well,” the vampire whispered. “Right now, I want to savour you.”

And savour Yoongi he did. With one hand he gripped Yoongi’s hair, holding the man’s head in place, while his free hand run down the other’s neck and dipped below the collar of his shirt. Lips like moist petals covered Yoongi’s and a cool tongue slowly coaxed his mouth open. The air grew heavier again, but unlike the choky feeling from before, this was softer, more careful… somehow warmer. And Junsu’s chilly touches awoke a living fire under Yoongi’s skin.

“Beautiful,” Junsu breathed again, like he could not stop himself from voicing out his admiration. The next kiss was firmer, tongue slipping past Yoongi’s teeth and brushing against his palate. The human gasped at the sensation – cool, yet fiery with passion. Junsu’s taste – calm and sweet and a little bit of metallic – evaded his senses. Everything was soft and hard, cold and hot, heavy and light at the same time. The vampire’s tongue flickered in Yoongi’s mouth like a wet flame and the man opened his lips wider, urging Junsu to come closer, deeper. Junsu’s canines were now fully out of their sheaths and dimpled the tender skin of Yoongi’s lower lip, occasionally scraping his tongue. The cold grip on the man’s hair tightened, sending little pinpricks of painful pleasure down his spine. Yoongi let out a whimpering moan at the sensation and he more felt than heard a quiet growl rumbling in the vampire’s chest.

Finally, when Yoongi’s head was already spinning from the lack of air, Junsu ended the kiss. But he only took a moment to stroke Yoongi’s cheek with his thumb and whisper a husky “my beautiful angel” to the man, before he dived in for another kiss, even deeper and stronger this time. He apparently did not have a full control over the dark, captivating aura surrounding him, because Yoongi’s arms and legs felt again like covered with a cloud-soft weight, but the younger clutched to him nonetheless, trying to kiss him back as well as possible. Then Junsu’s mouth moved to Yoongi’s jaw and for a moment the man could breathe freely again. This, however, was short-lived, as Junsu’s attention shifted to his neck and the feeling of sharp fangs against his skin turned Yoongi’s inhale into a choked gasp.

“Jun- Junsu-hyung,” he panted. “I want to… please…”

Junsu mouthed wetly at Yoongi’s neck, nipping the soft skin right under the jaw, moving diagonally over the Adam’s apple and dipping his tongue into the small hollow between collarbones. Wanting to feel again the sharpness of the vampire’s teeth, Yoongi pressed a hand to Junsu’s neck and pulled him closer. This earned him a playful growl and a series of quick nips along his clavicle.

The collar of Yoongi’s shirt was on the way and Junsu tugged it slightly. “Let’s take this off, shall we?”

Yoongi raised his hands in a dreamlike haze. “You too, hyung.”

“Ah,” Junsu laughed and sat up straighter, fingers deftly opening the buttons of his frilly shirt. “I’d better hurry before you rip this apart like the last time. It’s the only spare shirt I took with me.”

Yoongi lied back, warm and fuzzy feeling spreading through his whole body, and watched how the silken fabric fell open, gradually revealing an ivory-coloured chest and stomach. The man reached out and trailed his hand over Junsu’s firm abdominal muscles. They were cold like a marble statue and twitched under his palm.

“Hey,” Junsu smiled, shrugging the shirt from his shoulders. “Are you just laying there and waiting for me to undress you?”

“No,” Yoongi murmured, “‘m appreciating the beauty.”

Junsu’s laughter filled the room and the weight of the soft darkness over Yoongi diminished considerably. “I never pegged you as such a sap.”

“Fuck you, hyung,” Yoongi retorted, head now clearer than before. “It’s all your fault.”

Junsu slipped his icy fingers under the hem of Yoongi’s shirt and inched it upwards slowly. “How so?”

“You just… fuck, that’s cold!” Yoongi shrank away from the chilly sensation, but pushed back only a moment later, torn between wanting to escape from the cold and the need to feel Junsu’s hands against his skin. “Do you have icicles for fingers? Seriously, your mouth was okay, but this is like a frozen hell.”

Junsu grinned smugly. “Vampires are more affected by outer temperature than humans. It’s December outside and this room here isn’t too warm either. Give it a minute and they’ll warm up.”

“Yeah, well, not against my stomach!”

Junsu hummed thoughtfully. “Not against your _stomach_. Noted.”

Before Yoongi could think about any implications of the vampire’s words, those cold fingers danced across his ribs, glided over his chest and swirled around his nipples. An icy fire arose under Yoongi’s skin on their wake and despite of the sudden chill he felt something hot coiling in the pit of his belly.

“Aah, hyung, what the fuck are you…” The fingers brushed over his nipples and this, coupled with a slow roll of Junsu’s hips, rendered Yoongi speechless for a moment.

“Lovely,” Junsu grinned and brought his mouth to Yoongi’s chest, pulling the other’s shirt up and following the path of his fingers with his tongue. “My little beauty,” he murmured against Yoongi’s skin, before sealing his lips around the human’s nipple and sucking softly. Yoongi let out a shuddering moan. His hips twitched on their own accord and he felt his jeans growing uncomfortably tight.

“Junsu-hyung,” he started, but then the elder scraped his tender skin with a sharp fang and Yoongi’s words turned into a gasp, all the blood rushing south.

“You really like biting, don’t you,” Junsu commented amusedly, ruby-like sparkles in his eyes. “I only touched you with my teeth and” – he rolled his hips again, making Yoongi swallow another moan – “look at you now. All hard for me.”

“It’s not…” Yoongi breathed, “it’s not even close to biting.”

“Hmm.” Junsu seemed to take it as a personal challenge. He lowered his head again and latched on Yoongi’s nipple, this time stronger than before, licking and sucking until the flesh was red and throbbing. Then he raised his face, looked at Yoongi with a mischievous glint in his eyes and bit down gently.

Yoongi felt white-hot fire coursing through his body. He threw his head back and grabbed Junsu’s hair, forcing the other closer to his chest. Junsu’s hands were still skimming over his torso, but he barely felt the cold. The vampire gnawed on his chest until it was almost too much, turning Yoongi’s moans into helpless whimpers. Then he soothed the burning flesh with his tongue, kissed it lightly and turned his attention to the other nipple. His slender hips never ceased their slow circling, bringing Yoongi closer and closer to the edge.

“Junsu…” the man panted. “Junsu-hyung, I can’t… I’m – I’m close.”

The last word was barely left his mouth when he felt Junsu’s lips on his in a hungry kiss, so different from the earlier gentleness that it almost gave him a whiplash. One of the vampire’s hands flew to his hair, fingers digging into the strands and holding his head still. The other clutched his jaw, pulling his mouth open. Junsu’s tongue plunged deep into the hot cavern and Yoongi felt a muffled growl slipping past the man’s lips into his mouth. Then, before he could even react, Junsu pulled back to nip at his lips. Taking advantage of Yoongi’s dazed state, Junsu caught the younger’s tongue between his sharp teeth and Yoongi almost came when those needle-like fangs pierced through delicate flesh. He tried to say something, but Junsu captured his tongue and closed his lips around it, sucking with a poorly concealed restraint.

Yoongi keened high in the back of his throat. He felt like he could burst at any moment. The longing that had been building for weeks, the danger, the joy of seeing Junsu again and now the vampire’s endless teasing fused all together into a burning delight. His shaking hands gripped Junsu’s hair tighter and his leg wrapped around the elder’s thighs while he rutted upwards shamelessly.

Junsu released Yoongi’s tongue and looked at him with a smouldering gaze. There was a pale blush on his ivory cheeks and his lips had turned bright red from all the kissing they had done. His eyes, now almost completely deep crimson, seemed to glow in the darkness.

“Don’t you even try,” the man jokingly warned, sat up straighter and pinned Yoongi’s hips down. “Not yet.”

“Hyuuung!” Yoongi whined. “I was so close!”

Junsu swallowed heavily. “I know, beautiful, I know. But I have been thinking for long about the offer you made me when we first met.”

Yoongi rubbed his temples, trying to clear his head. “What offer?”

A teasing smirk crept across Junsu’s face. “Wanna know what’s on the menu? Remember?”

“Aargh,” Yoongi groaned. “Don’t remind me that horrible pun!”

“I really want to know what’s on the menu,” Junsu whispered with a breathy voice. “And I’m absolutely sure I’ll take it.” His smile briefly faltered and there was a flick of uncertainty in his eyes. “If the proposal is still up, I mean.”

It took Yoongi a moment to understand, but when Junsu’s words dawned on him, he watched the vampire with wide eyes for a second and then pulled him down into a deep kiss. Junsu opened his mouth for him and caught Yoongi’s tongue between his teeth again, lapping at the little wound he had made earlier.

“Fuck, hyung…” Yoongi groaned. “You… you’re sure?”

Junsu’s airy laughter rang in the dark air. “I should ask it from you! I have you under me, a small helpless human, I have probably captur-”

“I’m not small! You’re… two centimetres taller than me at most!”

Junsu smiled cheekily and kissed Yoongi again. “But you are so much younger. When you were born I was already in my late sixties.”

“Ugh, hyung, that was creepy.”

The vampire shrugged. “Jaejoong-hyung is more than two and a half centuries old. He’s seen the last years of Joseon, the rise and fall of the Korean Empire, the Japanese occupation from the very beginning… Now, _that_ is creepy.”

“Nah, that’s just… bizarre.”

Junsu nipped at Yoongi’s lip again. “So an eighty-three years old creep is creepy, but two hundred and sixty-something years old creep is bizarre? Sounds…” the vampire wrinkled his nose, “hm, you’re right, it is pretty logical from human’s perspective.”

Yoongi grinned. “Told you.”

“Anyway,” Junsu continued, unperturbed, “we were discussing the menu, weren’t we?” He accentuated his words with a roll of his hips that made Yoongi gasp and buck up again. It seemed to affect himself as well, because he suddenly took a deep breath, sharp canines digging into a plump lower lip.

“Let’s take this off.” Junsu tugged Yoongi’s shirt, prompting him to raise his hands, and pulled it over the man’s head. As soon as the fabric hit the floor, Junsu’s mouth – and cold hands as well, but not so chilly than before – were on Yoongi’s skin. He licked and nibbled the other’s stomach, moving slowly upwards and leaving behind a faint trail of quickly fading hickeys. When he reached the swollen nipples, Yoongi had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep himself from crying out, because that hurt, but was at the same time so, so good.

“Don’t worry,” the vampire mumbled between licks and small bites. “Our next-door neighbour is Jaejoong-hyung… and… aah… I doubt he’ll spend the night in his room.”

Junsu’s lips moved to Yoongi’s neck. He gave it a series of sharp nips and nuzzled into the pulse point, breath rapidly quickening. His entire body was taut as a bowstring, muscles quivering under the marble-white skin. Continuous growl rumbled in his throat, but he did not seem to be aware of it. His hands slid up and down on Yoongi’s sides, fingers gently scratching and stroking the skin.

“Hyung,” Yoongi mewled, his own hands in Junsu’s hair again, “fuck, quit teasing…”

The vampire mumbled something intelligible and moved to kiss Yoongi’s shoulder. But all of a sudden he stilled and dug his fingers lightly into the skin of Yoongi’s hips.

“What’s there?” Junsu’s voice was oddly cold and his eyes had turned into thin slits. “Turn over.”

Stupefied, Yoongi obeyed. The change of position made his arousal press even stronger against his jeans. He shivered at the feeling while a quiet whine slipped past his lips. Junsu paid no heed to it. His fingers ran gently over Yoongi’s back, but his words sounded more like a snarl. “Who did this?!”

“Huh?” Yoongi twisted his head to look at the other. “Who did what?”

Junsu’s anger was palpable. It rippled in the air and prickled Yoongi’s skin as a static electricity. “You have bruises in the size of my palm all over your lower back. If they were those bastards, I… I –“

“Most likely them,” Yoongi mumbled, a bit surprised to hear Junsu swearing. “One of them was on my back with his knees.”

Junsu was quiet for a moment, drawing nonsensical patterns on the younger’s skin, but even Yoongi with his human senses could hear the other grinding his teeth.

“Hyung, it’s not so bad.” Yoongi tried to look at Junsu’s face, but all he could catch over his shoulder was a dark profile against the faint light coming from the window. “They don’t hurt almost at all.”

They did, in fact, but it was definitely not so bad as Junsu seemed to think.

“I’ll kill those idiots,” Junsu hissed through his teeth. “I’ll kill them all.”

The vampire’s fury, the menacing tone of his voice and the eerie atmosphere surrounding him made chills of fright run down Yoongi’s spine, but at the same time he felt warm – warmer than he had been for a long time. Junsu was concerned about him. Junsu cared of him.

However, he would have probably made a fool of himself if he had dared to say that out loud. “Hyung,” he uttered instead, “don’t worry, I barely feel them. But I have a problem here that is much more pressing.”

The heavy air around them felt a bit lighter. Junsu huffed out a silent laugh and stroke Yoongi’s back softly. “You little brat,” he told the younger with a fondness in his voice. “How can you even move with them? They look really painful.”

“Taehyung told me that vampires don’t bruise as easily as humans,” Yoongi explained. Junsu’s hands moved to his shoulders and he let out a content sigh. “If you were bruised like that, it would be a serious injury, but with me it isn’t as bad as it looks to you. You should know that. Or have your eighty-three years affected your memory so much?”

Junsu snorted. “Yes, I know you’ll get injured more easily, that’s why I am worried. And I have been a vampire for… sixty-six years by now. I don’t remember much about my life before. I mean, I remember some things… and some people… but everything else is a blur.”

“Hyung, how did you…” Yoongi abruptly closed his mouth. He had wanted to ask how had Junsu become a vampire, but then remembered Jimin’s story and decided against it. This was probably really sensitive question. Not to mention it could totally ruin everything that had been left of the earlier mood.

“How did I what?”

“No, never mind,” Yoongi mumbled.

“You wanted to know how did I become a vampire.” Junsu’s voice held a sad smile. “Am I right? That’s what humans usually ask if I say anything about my former life.”

“No, I just… I was wondering… I guess it’s not a good question… forget it…”

Junsu’s hands massaged his shoulders lightly. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday. Not now, though.”

“But…” this was a thing Yoongi had to know, “have you turned someone?”

“No,” Junsu quickly answered. “No-one. Never.”

“All right,” Yoongi murmured. “I… it’s just I’ve heard that vampires can sometimes turn humans unknowingly… or something like that.”

Junsu gripped his shoulders firmer and carefully turned him over. The elder’s dark red eyes were only a centimetre away from Yoongi’s face.

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu said quietly. “I have never turned anyone. Not knowingly, nor unknowingly. It is not possible. I’m absolutely sure of that.”

There was a fierce look in the vampire’s eyes, but a contrastingly wistful note to his voice. One of his long fingers was tenderly stroking Yoongi’s cheek.

“Okay,” the human whispered. “I believe you. But can you kiss me now?”

Junsu’s serious face broke into a smile. “As much as you wish.”

The kiss was deep and thorough, but it was still lacking the fire from before. Yoongi decided to change it. With one hand lightly pulling the short hair on Junsu’s nape – something the vampire seemed to really enjoy if his content hums and occasional shivers were anything to go by – he hooked his leg once again around Junsu’s thighs and drew the other closer. His free hand briefly caressed the elder’s shoulder, but soon found its way to Junsu’s chest and brushed over the nipples. Spurred on by a little gasp Junsu emitted, he continued his journey over the rock-hard abs that trembled under his touch, twirled his fingers around the navel, touched the hem of…

“Are you sure?” Junsu suddenly breathed. “I don’t want you to injure your back any more.”

“Hyung!” Yoongi exclaimed. “What the fuck? You’re on top of me, half-naked, you’ve been kissing me for an hour or so and now you ask if I’m sure!”

Junsu pecked his nose. “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m sure,” Yoongi huffed. “I’m absolutely fucking sure.” To emphasize his words, he grabbed the vampire’s leather-clad ass and dug his fingers into the firm muscle. It seemed the right thing to do – a husky growl arose in Junsu’s throat and he dove into another kiss without any further delay. His teeth dug into Yoongi’s lower lip and pulled the younger’s mouth open, allowing Junsu’s tongue to slip in and dance over the molars and hard palate.

“So, so good,” Junsu whispered into Yoongi’s mouth and pressed their lips together again before the latter could answer or even catch a breath. Yoongi was gone, his whole body was tingling with pleasure, his one hand was holding Junsu’s hair in a vice grip and the other was pressed against the round swell of Junsu’s ass, fingers rhythmically clenching and unclenching. He heard some muffled moans, but was not sure if those were his or Junsu’s.

And then the vampire’s hips rolled into his and Junsu’s hard-on bumped against his own nearly painful erection – and he realised with a start that he was almost on the verge of coming.

“Junsu-hyung!” he panted. “Can I – can we – ooh, fuck…”

Junsu looked at him, eyes burning with desire and little puffs of cool air falling from the spit-slicked lips – a human habit, probably, because although vampires could not live completely without air, their need to breathe was practically non-existent. Taehyung had told so.

“Yeah, we can,” Junsu whispered and wiggled lower until he was hovering over Yoongi’s legs. His fingers, now lukewarm, slipped under the hem of the other’s jeans. “Let’s take these off.”

Yoongi eagerly raised his hips and allowed Junsu to slide both his jeans and boxers down in one go. He sagged back into the mattress and moaned with relief as his member was finally freed. But then his body went rigid again and his eyes flew open in surprise, because instead of Junsu coming back up again, he felt chilly breath on his cock. Glancing down, Yoongi saw the vampire between his legs, mouth parted and eyes gleaming hungrily. His fangs had grown even longer.

“May I?” Junsu pleaded, gripping Yoongi’s thigh and squeezing it desperately. Pink tongue poked out between the pearly white canines and his nose was lightly brushing the other’s cock. He looked like a ravenous lion in front of a defenceless deer. He looked gorgeous.

Yoongi whined helplessly at the thought of those needle-sharp teeth against the most sensitive part of his body. It was both terrifying and exhilarating, making his cock twitch and a drop of pre-come ooze out. Junsu eyed it needily and the vampire’s own arousal and excitement rolled over Yoongi in heavy waves until his skin was raised in goosebumps and constant shivers racked his naked form.

“If you… oh, sweet fuck… if you do that… I’ll – I’ll not last,” he warned the other.

Junsu licked his lips and swallowed slowly. “Can you come twice?”

“I… yeah, probably.”

Definitely.

“But,” Yoongi pushed himself up to his elbows as Junsu spread his legs wider to settle comfortably between them, “don’t you even think of biting… oh, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!”

Soft, cool wetness was slowly moving down his hard arousal and Yoongi felt like he could combust at any moment. He fell back again and clutched the sheets with both hands, trying with all of his willpower not to come too quickly. Junsu’s tongue licked around his shaft and traced the vein underside. He gave the base of Yoongi’s cock a couple of long wet kisses and moved upwards again, gently mouthing at the sensitive head until the younger was writhing and moaning with pleasure. A string of mindless curses left Yoongi’s lips, mixed with variations of Junsu’s name. The latter let out a content hum at this and wrapped his petal-soft lips around the tip of Yoongi’s cock, his tongue digging into the slit and making the man cry out again.

Yoongi dared a look and found Junsu’s red eyes staring intently back to him. The elder was like a porcelain doll in the dim moonlight, all delicate, smooth and pale, but his lust-filled gaze and the sight of those full lips around Yoongi’s weeping arousal were downright obscene. Yoongi felt more pre-come leaking out of his pulsating length and Junsu swirled his tongue around to collect it, sucking a bit stronger and swallowing heavily. It was heaven.

Yoongi shivered. A low moan forced its way out of his throat and the vampire sent him a blinding grin at that, flashing his long sharp teeth, before ducking his head again and brushing his lips against the sensitive underside. His tongue twirled around Yoongi’s cock as if it were a hard candy. A string of saliva dribbled out of the corner of his mouth and trickled down to Yoongi’s balls. Holding Yoongi’s hips firmly down, so that the man could not move, he chased the drop of liquid all the way down. Then, very carefully, he curled his tongue around one testicle and gave it a slow ticklish lick.

“Fuck…” Yoongi groaned. He was on the verge of coming, but Junsu’s light touches, almost there and still not enough, held him from toppling over the edge. “Fuck, hyung… don’t tease!”

Junsu looked at him, desire and mirth dancing in his eyes. “What do you want me to do?”

“More,” Yoongi gasped.

“More of this?” Junsu scattered open-mouthed kisses over Yoongi’s shaft, sucking the skin a bit stronger than before. Then he closed his lips again over the reddened head and pressed his tongue tightly against it.

Yoongi keened high and long. He felt his hips buck, but Junsu held him firmly, preventing him from moving, and Yoongi’s voice turned into a protesting moan. It was the sweetest torture he had ever endured… but a torture nonetheless. In a fit of desperate arousal he tangled his fingers into the vampire’s hair and tried to push him down, but Junsu did not budge an inch.

“Junsu-hyung…” Yoongi pleaded, his words wavering from need. He must have looked like a mess – skin flushed and sweaty, hair dishevelled from thrashing around in the bed and lips bitten raw. “Hyung, please, fuck, please…”

“Darling, are you out of your mind?” Junsu’s spoke evenly, but his voice had dropped into a deep husky growl, betraying that he was almost as affected as Yoongi. “Stay still. Look at these.” He curled his upper lip and pointed to the sharp fangs. “I do not have a lot of control over them. Whenever I feel hungry or excited enough – _any_ kind of hungry or excited – they come out and that’s it. No deepthroating. Sorry about this.”

Yoongi slowly shook his head. He had forgotten the fangs at all. “Don’t – don’t be sorry. I get it.”

“But,” Junsu’s eyes glinted with eagerness, “I can do it otherwise.”

“What…” Yoongi started, but then Junsu’s fist closed tightly around the base of his cock, his lips once again wrapped themselves over the head, he gave it a strong suck and Yoongi lost all coherent thought. His hips jerked violently when the surging heat washed over him and a weak moan fell from his lips.

This spurred Junsu on even more. He let Yoongi’s pre-come dribble over his shaft and spread it with his fingers, making the slide easier. His hand was pumping Yoongi, slowly and tightly, while his tongue was twirling around, occasionally lapping up the white fluid that was now steadily trickling from the flushed tip.

“Holy fuck…” Yoongi panted as the burning pleasure shot into every nerve-ending of his body. He tried to look at Junsu, to drink in his sinful beauty, but his eyelids were drooping in bliss and his vision was littered with red and white sparks. The knot in the pit of his stomach grew tighter and tighter, until he was ready to…

Suddenly the vampire halted his movements and looked up at Yoongi. “Do you, by any chance, happen to have lube?”

“Huh?” Yoongi blinked dazedly.

“Do you have lube?” Junsu patiently repeated.

Yoongi shook his head, unable to think clearly. “N-no. Why?”

“Ah, never mind.” Junsu’s free hand came to play with Yoongi’s balls, his mouth moved down again and then, all of a sudden, Yoongi felt the slightest scrape of Junsu’s fangs on his cock.

“Aah!” the man cried out, hips twitching uncontrollably, as a white-hot pleasure coursed through his body. Fortunately, Junsu was holding him down strongly enough. “Hyung, what are you… no, be careful… please… ooh, fuck…”

Junsu threw his arm firmly over Yoongi’s hips, his other hand never ceasing its rhythmic slide on Yoongi’s hard-on. “Look at me, beautiful,” he whispered, cold air fanning over the man’s cock. “Look at me.”

Yoongi struggled to comply. The thought of Junsu’s teeth _there_ made his blood run cold and his limbs shake feverishly. Yes, he loved a little pain, but he was not that crazy. His cock, however, seemed to have a different idea – it was so hard that it hurt, trickling white pre-come on his stomach.

Junsu locked his eyes with Yoongi, making sure the man was watching. Then he – slowly, very slowly – licked the tip of Yoongi’s aching cock, opened his mouth wider and bared his long pearly canines. Angling his head, he pressed the flat surface against the tender skin and leisurely glided his teeth up and down, wringing more sounds out of Yoongi’s throat. With his ruby hair, piercing eyes and come-covered lips he was a vision – an alluring, stunning, debauched vision.

And then the vampire opened his mouth even more and let the knife-sharp tips of his fangs graze over Yoongi’s cock, soothing the burn with his cool tongue. One time, two times, three…

Yoongi screamed as white fire burst behind his eyes and he came, shooting long thick ropes on his stomach. Junsu caught some of it with his mouth and sucked gently at the head, until it became too sensitive and Yoongi pulled away, whimpering brokenly.

“Holy fuck, hyung,” he whispered.

“Did you like it?” Junsu asked curiously. He twirled his fingers in the come on Yoongi’s stomach and brought them to his mouth, making Yoongi squeeze his eyes shot and groan desperately, because the image was too much for him to handle right now. “Or was it a bit over the top?”

“No,” Yoongi breathed, “no, it wasn’t. It was great… perfect… wonderful. You’re wonderful.”

Junsu pressed his lips on Yoongi’s thigh. Yoongi felt the vampire smile with open mouth. His canines were scratching the skin a little.

“You’re wonderful,” Junsu countered. “Up for more?”

Yoongi blinked his eyes. “For… oh, yes, of course.”

“For the next course in the menu,” Junsu added, giggling when Yoongi threw an arm over his eyes and muttered a pouty “shut up with that, hyung“. “Aah, you’re really, really cute…”

“You’re lucky I like you,” Yoongi mumbled. “I am _not_ cute.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Junsu rose from the bed with one fluid motion and pulled his tight leather pants down with one go. “You’re big and scary. Better?”

“Fuck off.”

“So you don’t want me to… aah, wait!” Yoongi had attempted to sit up, but the vampire stilled his movement with a cool palm on the man’s chest. “Stay still.”

Yoongi sent the other a puzzled glance. “I only wanted to” – he gestured to his come-covered abdomen – “clean this up.”

“Wait.” Junsu climbed to the bed and settled himself over Yoongi again, his pale sinewy legs caging the younger in. Yoongi could not help but peek curiously at the vampire’s cock, long and ivory-coloured like the rest of him, only the tip dusted with light pink. “I remember you telling me you don’t have lube.”

“Huh?” Yoongi asked, Junsu’s words melding together in his brain and registering only as a warm and somewhat comforting background noise. Damn, Junsu was beautiful like this, hovering over Yoongi as some lust-fuelled dream, his eyes glinting with red, hair messy and lips bitten raw. These strong biceps, firm abs… and thighs, oh holy hell, his thighs…

Junsu seemed to wait for something, but then he shrugged, the corner of his mouth curving in a little smirk, and promptly shoved his fingers into the come on Yoongi’s stomach. He twirled them around and only when he reached behind himself did Yoongi understand what the elder was going to do.

“Fuckshitcock,” the man whispered. “Hyung, you’re killing me… fuck…”

Junsu sent him another cheeky little smile, before his eyebrows scrunched together and his mouth opened in a soundless moan. Yoongi gulped, his cock beginning to fill again. This soft yet heavy feeling was creeping back, rich and bittersweet like a dark chocolate.

“You can touch, you know,” Junsu uttered, sounding a bit breathless, and Yoongi realised that he had raised his hands, but was holding them just above the vampire’s ivory skin, like he was afraid that Junsu could vanish if touched. Slowly he brought his hands down and skimmed over the silky expanse, down to the slim waist. Touching Junsu was like an addicting drink – once he had started he could not stop. Yoongi caressed the elder’s thighs, then reached up again and brushed a finger over the rosy nipple, making Junsu gasp and shiver. Wanting to coax more sounds out from between those soft crimson lips, Yoongi trailed his fingers to Junsu’s abdomen, then lower, lower, until he was finally holding the base of the other’s cock with both hands.

Junsu let out a long low moan, drew out his fingers and covered them once more with Yoongi’s come before showing two of them back inside. His face contorted with pleasure again and his mouth fell open in shuddering pants.

“Hyung,” Yoongi murmured while pumping Junsu slowly with one hand, “let me...”

“What?” Junsu sent him a dazed look. Yoongi slicked his fingers up as good as possible and reached around Junsu, gently prodding at his rim. “Can I?”

The vampire swallowed heavily, his eyes falling shut, and gave a wordless nod. Very slowly and carefully, Yoongi pressed the tip of his finger inside, right beside Junsu’s own fingers. Junsu’s inner walls were a little warmer than his skin and fluttered wonderfully against Yoongi’s finger, sucking it right in.

“Faster,” Junsu moaned and pushed his hips back. Yoongi’s finger was forced inside and... oh, he must have accidentally brushed against Junsu’s prostate, because the elder sucked in a sharp breath and fell over Yoongi, catching himself with one hand at the last moment. He latched onto Yoongi’s lips and kissed, licked, bit and sucked, until Yoongi was gasping for air like a fish out of water.

“Now,” Junsu pleaded. “I need you right now.”

“Hyung, are you sure it’s enough? I...”

“Yoongi-ah!” Junsu whined and pulled his own fingers out. “I won’t... aah, stop it, I won’t last. Take... oh, what are you... take your finger out now, before...”

Yoongi was beyond desperate himself, but it was exhilarating to see the calm and collected vampire finally pleading. Grinning, he pushed another finger into Junsu, reached the other’s prostate and pressed down on it.

Junsu let out a litany of gasps and whines. His cock was leaking a stream of pre-come on Yoongi’s hand and stomach, his dark red eyes were glazed over and his teeth dug into his own lips, breaking the skin and forcing out a drop of thick, reddish-black blood before the small wound closed itself and healed without a scar. But he got himself together quicker than Yoongi had expected and snapped his hips forward, causing Yoongi’s fingers to slip out. Then he sat up, thighs quivering from exertion, and steadily lowered himself onto Yoongi’s still sensitive cock.

Yoongi felt like the air had been punched out of him. He wanted to moan, to yell, to scream from delight, but all he could do was to gape soundlessly, his nails digging into Junsu’s thighs.

“Stars of heaven,” the vampire panted. He was glowing, as if he had bathed in the same moonlight that occasionally shone through the clouds behind the window. He was still as a stone, but Yoongi could almost feel the restless, explosive energy simmering beneath his skin. Junsu’s eyes were closed and long lashes fanned over his pale cheeks. He was beautiful – the most gorgeous creature Yoongi had ever seen.

And then Junsu slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yoongi from under heavy lids. There was fire in his gaze.

The world did no longer exist. There was only Junsu, Junsu, Junsu… and the mind-numbing pleasure. The vampire’s lukewarm fingers were splayed over Yoongi’s chest, his thighs were squeezing Yoongi’s hips and his velvety soft inner walls were fluttering deliciously around the man’s cock. It took all the remnants of Yoongi’s self-control to hold still and not thrust up into the other’s tight body.

Carefully, Junsu bent down and gave Yoongi a light kiss. “You… you feel amazing,” he whispered, his words punctuated by tiny gasps. “Beautiful… perfect… my fairy… my angel… my – oh – my sweet moonlight…”

“Fuck,” was Yoongi’s eloquent answer. His brain seemed to have turned into molasses and his vision was blurred by tears of pleasure.

Junsu was still coherent enough to giggle at Yoongi’s reply. “Yeah, that’s – ah! – that’s what we’re doing,” he breathed, pulling back a bit and moving his hips in tiny circles. His insides constricted at the stimulation and the sudden tightness forced a string of profanities out of Yoongi.

Gradually the vampire began building a rhythm. Tautening those glorious thighs, he lifted himself up and lowered down again, only to rise higher and drop down quicker next time. His eyes were squeezed shut with pleasure and the gasps falling from his spit-slicked lips were turning into soft moans. His long pale fingers glided over Yoongi’s body and dug themselves into the man’s hips for better leverage.

Yoongi looked at his own hands, short fingernails dimpling the ivory skin of Junsu’s thighs. If Junsu had been a human, the force of Yoongi’s hold would have hurt, but the vampire did not seem to mind. And this death grip was the only thing anchoring Yoongi to earth. He felt like floating, flying, burning up with delight. Every drag of his cock against Junsu’s silky walls sent shivers of pleasure all over his body and every time the vampire dropped down, engulfing Yoongi’s length, forced fresh tears out of his eyes. He was babbling something nonsensical between his moans and pants, but the words did not register. His hips, despite Junsu’s firm hold, were twitching erratically.

Junsu leaned down again and licked Yoongi’s temple, tasting the human’s salty sweat. “You can… you can move, if you want to,” he panted raggedly and spread his thighs a little, giving Yoongi more room. “But – oh! – be careful with your back – aah, what are you… be careful, I said… your – your back…”

Yoongi felt nearly delirious. As soon as Junsu had given him the permission to move, he dug his heels into the bed and snapped his hips up in quick succession. There was a dull ache in his lower back, but he was too far gone to care. And Junsu’s moans, punctuated by Yoongi’s thrusts, spurred him on even more.

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu gasped, soft lips tickling Yoongi’s ear, “you’re… hurting yourself… if you… if you continue like this…”

The word “hurting” caught Yoongi’s attention and he willed himself to slow down. “Fuck… sorry, hyung… did I hurt you?”

Junsu shook his head. “Your back.”

“My back?” It took Yoongi a while to register. “It… oh… ‘s fine. Did I… aah, fuck… too hard?”

“No… liked it.” Junsu seized Yoongi’s head and gave him a long wet kiss. “You can go even harder, but…”

Yoongi blinked his eyes, head spinning from the kiss. “Harder?”

The vampire nodded. “But don’t hurt yourself.”

“I won’t.” Yoongi held the elder by the nape of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. It was oddly sweet this time, considering the position they were in.

Junsu smiled at him, eyes twinkling with… love? Lust? Affection? “May I bite you at the same time?”

Yoongi sucked in a quick breath. “Please, hyung… you don’t even have to ask.”

Junsu chuckled and bent down until his body was flush with Yoongi’s. “Feel free to go,” he purred, his cool breath tickling the other’s neck. “As hard as you want.”

Yoongi did not need to be told twice. He grabbed Junsu by the hips and drove himself deep into the vampire. Junsu let out a loud yelp that turned into a staggering moan.

“Again,” he whispered.

“Fuck, hyung,” Yoongi swore and thrust up again. Junsu’s fangs were grazing his skin and making him dizzy with anticipation. Groaning, he took a hold of Junsu’s butt cheeks and pulled them apart, so he could push deeper into the other. “Fuck… so good.”

“Good...” Junsu echoed, panting harshly. His left hand was clutching the bedsheets – Yoongi heard a soft ripping sound when the white cotton was slowly tearing between Junsu’s fingers. With his right hand he grabbed Yoongi’s hair and pulled the man’s head to the side.

The action tore a low whine out of Yoongi’s throat and his cock twitched inside Junsu as the sharp pain made shivers run down his spine. He resisted the pull a little, to prolong the feeling. Junsu seemed to understand. He twined his fingers stronger into Yoongi’s hair and pulled again.

“Mine,” the vampire whispered, nosing at Yoongi’s neck and biting down occasionally. “My sweet human.”

“You – oh, fuck – yours,” Yoongi mewled. He was torn between the want to pound mercilessly into Junsu until he came and the need to surrender, to offer himself up completely and let the heavy darkness consume him. Junsu was growling and gnawing at his neck – not breaking the skin yet, but Yoongi was sure his neck would be covered with bruises by tomorrow.

Hot pain flashed through his body. He felt the fangs, sharp as knife, slowly slicing through his skin and flesh.

Yoongi cried out as these long canines dug deeper. His body went rigid as he clutched to Junsu even stronger than before. His head was light, his vision was swimming and it felt as a thick blanket had been draped over him, because he could not move an arm or a leg. His hips, however, bucked up at their own accord, driving relentlessly into Junsu. The vampire’s moans were muffled into his neck and the sharp incisors pulled back a little, before sinking into his skin again.

Everything blurred together. The trembling body on top of him, the wonderful tightness around his weeping cock, the prickling of his scalp, the delightful hurt in his neck that spread into every corner of his being. Yoongi did not know if his eyes were closed or open, but he was sure there were stars shining before them, red like Junsu’s fiery eyes. His release racked through him as a storm, shaking him to the core and leaving him utterly breathless. He could not move, he could not speak, he could not think – only lay there and _feel_.

Junsu was not done yet. He ground his hips down in tight circles, making Yoongi whimper from overstimulation, and let the human’s neck go for a moment, only to latch onto it again and start sucking rhythmically.

Yoongi whined weakly, too spent to do anything more. There was a little nagging thought at the back of his mind, something about proper sex etiquette and not coming before your partner if you were on top… was he on top? Or was Junsu topping him from bottom? Or bottoming him from top? It was too hard to think clearly with Junsu’s lips and tongue on his skin. His body was tingling, his cock was sore and sensitive, but he did not want this to end. Not yet. Maybe never.

Junsu pressed even closer to Yoongi. The rolls of his hips grew quicker and quicker, until they ceased suddenly. His slick walls contracted and squeezed Yoongi’s cock so tightly that the man let out a surprised yelp. And then he was coming all over Yoongi with a drawn-out guttural moan.

Yoongi must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing he remembered was Junsu kissing his eyes and nose.

“Don’t fall asleep on me again,” the vampire murmured. “It’s no fun. I want to kiss and cuddle you, but you’re just… lying there.”

“Mhm…” Yoongi hummed. “’m not sleeping…”

Junsu looked at him warmly and shook his head. “Next time we’ll do it in the morning. If you have just woken up, you can’t fall asleep again.”

“Hmm…” Yoongi blinked his eyes. “I c’n fall ‘sleep whenever… whene’er I damn want…”

Junsu laughed and climbed out of the bed. “Stay awake a little bit more. I’m gonna clean you up.”

Yoongi watched him going with half-closed eyes. Junsu walked as graceful as ever. Well, almost. There was the slightest falter in his step and a rivulet of milky-white come was trickling down his equally pale thigh. Yoongi ran a finger over his marked neck and wondered if his nails had also left their marks on Junsu’s marble-like skin. But, unfortunately, the moonlight was too dim to see.

In his sleepy haze, Yoongi barely registered Junsu coming back, carefully cleaning him with a wet towel and tucking him into the blanket before laying down behind him and hugging him tightly. But he vividly remembered how, right before he fell asleep, Junsu kissed his neck and whispered “Sweet dreams”. The vampire’s lips were still warm from Yoongi’s blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one of the oldest parts of the fic – if I remember it correctly, the first paragraphs were written sometime during 2018. Of course I have modified and expanded it heavily as the story has progressed, but the sex scene above is actually my very first full-blown smut where the characters have gone all the way. So, I hope you enjoyed the loss of my literary virginity. XD


	6. The Clue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this chapter is written from Yoongi’s point of view, as usual, but at the end it switches to Jaejoong and Taemin for a short while.

“Taehyung’s not with them. Now I’m sure of this. Well… almost sure.”

Yoongi groaned and blinked his eyes. He felt surprisingly well. His headache was gone and he was pleasantly rested. His muscles were a little sore, but in a languid, nice kind of way that permeated to the core of his body and left a warm buzz in its wake. Only his back was hurting a little, but it was not so bad.

And there was a faint throbbing at the side of his neck, but that was definitely a good thing.

“How do you know?” It was Junsu, voice as alert as ever. “Oh, good morning, Yoongi. Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, I’m sure he did,” Jaejoong snickered. “But it was you with whom he slept – if my nose is not betraying me –, so I don’t understand why are you asking him.”

“What?!”

The older vampire laughed. “Didn’t you have the first-hand experience of how well did he sleep? Or were you so fucked out that you don’t remember anything and now you have to ask him what happened?”

“Hyung!” Junsu shrieked. “Shut up! I asked him how did he _sleep_ , not…”

“And based on your usual preferences,” Jaejoong continued, unperturbed, “I dare to say that you were the one taking it up the ass.”

Junsu emitted a pained groan and Jaejoong giggled as a schoolgirl.

“You’re right,” Yoongi mumbled into his pillow and Junsu muttered something about a conspiracy against him.

Yoongi turned over and opened his eyes. The room was dim, so it was probably an early morning. Junsu was somewhere behind him. Jaejoong was sitting on an armchair next to the bed, golden hair askew and red speckles dancing in his eyes. The vampire gasped theatrically when Yoongi faced him, and put a hand on his chest.

“By the sacred name of my ancestors,” Jaejoong half-whispered, “who has mauled your neck like this?”

“Hyung!” Junsu shouted again, hopped over the bed and lunged at Jaejoong. “Stop it!”

Jaejoong pushed the younger vampire off, still smirking. “Junsu-yah, your lover-boy’s neck looks like some modern art. And… dear heaven, his chest is even better!”

Junsu toppled over with embarrassed laughter, one hand clutching Jaejoong’s arm and the other hitting his chest repeatedly. “Hyung! Stop it! Enough!”

“But look, Junsu-yah.” Jaejoong pulled the other into his lap and turned him over to face Yoongi. “Isn’t he beautiful? He looks absolutely delicious.”

“You’re impossible,” Junsu laughed.

Jaejoong hooked his chin over Junsu’s shoulder. “Well? Tell me I’m wrong.”

Junsu, still laughing, turned his gaze at Yoongi. Having two pairs of eyes at him made Yoongi a bit self-conscious, but he fought back the urge to hide under the blanket and give Jaejoong the opportunity to tease him more. Besides, Jaejoong and Junsu together were honestly a sight to see. They were different and yet similar in a way. Where Junsu was a mix of masculine charm and child-like cuteness, Jaejoong looked ethereal and dainty, almost frail at first sight. But they both had this predatory air around them that frightened and exited Yoongi at the same time. And their deep dark eyes held a hint of sadness, even when laughing. Taehyung did not have this sadness, Yoongi remembered. Or maybe he had not looked closely enough.

Speaking of Taehyung…

“Jaejoong-ssi,” Yoongi asked, partially to shift the attention away from himself, “you were talking about Taehyung before. You said he’s not with them. With whom?”

Jaejoong draped his arms around Junsu’s waist, his chin still on the younger’s shoulder. “I went to U-Know at night and… questioned him a bit. Oh, and call me hyung, please.”

Junsu snorted. “ _Questioned_ him a bit. That’s a fancy way to put it.”

Jaejoong bit the other’s shoulder as a revenge until Junsu yelped and pushed him away. “Criticising my methods? Well, they work, don’t you think?”

Yoongi watched the exchange curiously. “Why U-Know? Why not Max?”

“U-Know tends to be more… cooperative.” Jaejoong wrinkled his nose and pouted at Yoongi. “Also, Max is sadly immune to my charms.”

“Your charms,” Junsu huffed and Jaejoong bit him again.

Yoongi sat up in the bed and wrapped the blanket around him. “So, what do we do now?”

Jaejoong let go of Junsu’s shoulder and pulled the younger vampire firmer into his lap, despite Junsu’s half-hearted protests. “Now we’ll wait. U-Know said that they knew nothing about Taehyung and confirmed Max’s words about how the ambush yesterday was just an attempt to make use of the situation and capture Leeteuk. The whole morning Amber has been trying to hack into the security systems of various churches and Leeteuk has sent his men to keep an eye on as many churches as possible. Also, he has a few helicopters ready for emergencies.”

“But…” Yoongi tried to remember the conversation at Hoseok’s place, two nights ago. “There was a gang who did some… business with the hunters? Geum-something-Pa?”

“Aah.” Jaejoong smiled. “Geum Saja Pa. Don’t worry about them, they don’t have Taehyung.”

“How do you know?”

Jaejoong’s grin was somewhat unsettling. “They are the only clan I know who are aware of the existence of vampires. I paid a visit to their leader tonight. I heard some… interesting things, considering both Dal Yong Pa and Bam Jangmi Pa, but no, Taehyung is not with them.”

“What interesting things?” Yoongi did not want to know how exactly had Jaejoong got his information.

The vampire shook his head. “Nothing terribly important. I’ll let U-Know and Leeteuk find out when the time is right.”

Junsu cast a fond and slightly exasperated look over his shoulder. “Jaejoong-hyung thinks this is all some kind of a game,” he told Yoongi. “He probably knows more about the Korean mafia than anyone else.”

Jaejoong hummed. “Don’t tell U-Know, though. Or Max, God forbid, the kid knows more than I like anyway.”

Yoongi looked at Jaejoong again. He resembled more of a K-pop star than a mafioso. Or one of those flower boys the royal courts were full of – according to the historical dramas, at least.

“I know this look,” Jaejoong teased. “‘Why the hell is he doing this, he’s too pretty to be a gangster.’ Right?”

Yoongi yawned. “Well, you do look like a pop star.”

“A pop star!” Jaejoong laughed. “Junsu-yah, what do you think? Me as a K-pop idol?”

Junsu snorted. “Hyung, you’d make the most scandalous K-pop idol I’ve ever seen.”

Jaejoong let out an affirming noise. “It started during the Japanese rule,” he explained to Yoongi. “Officially, at least. I was fed up with the Japanese soldiers and joined the Liberation Corps, then the Korea Justice Corps. After the assassination of Kim Jwajin I operated on my own for a while, until I became a member of Jumok. And then… I kind of got addicted to it. The Myungdong – this was when I met Junsu –, then a bunch of street gangs. And in the nineties I met U-Know’s father and joined Dal Yong Pa. That’s it.”

Yoongi nodded thoughtfully. “And so you just… kill the people U-Know asks you to?”

“What?” Jaejoong burst into laughter again. “Oh no, my work’s a lot more interesting. I infiltrate the other clans, I coordinate the operations, I gather information, I take part of the negotiations… and yes, sometimes I kill the people U-Know asks me to. If I want to.”

“If you want to? But he is your boss?”

“Well, that’s why Max doesn’t like me,” Jaejoong admitted cheerfully. “He is U-Know’s right-hand-man and he thinks I have too much power.” The vampire shrugged. “Sucks for him. He’s lovely, though, when he’s not being a little shit. And pretty… really pretty.”

“But straight,” Junsu cut in. “For Jaejoong-hyung’s misfortune.”

Jaejoong whined and hid his face into Junsu’s shirt. “He has _The Abs_. Glorious, rock-hard, chiselled abs. And legs. _Long_ legs. And miles of smooth tanned skin… It would be such a nice contrast against me, like gold and snow together. And his face… aah!”

Junsu twisted in Jaejoong’s lap and patted the other’s head condescendingly. “Don’t worry, hyung, you have U-Know. And Cinderella – I mean, Heechul. And… who was that pretty boy who cursed almost as much as Yoongi?”

“Yesung,” Jaejoong muttered into Junsu’s shirt. “Not his real name, of course. He told me a month ago that he is straight. Can you imagine this? ‘Hyung, you’re really beautiful, but I think I like girls more.’ Whatever…” Jaejoong snuggled further into Junsu’s back. “And U-Know told me tonight that he wants to marry a woman one day. A _woman_!” Jaejoong let out a long whine. “All handsome men are either taken or total prudes or turn out to be straight eventually. And Heechul probably hates me now.” The vampire sniffed theatrically.

“Well,” Junsu leaned back into Jaejoong’s embrace, “then I’m out of ideas. Almost.”

Out of the blue, Jaejoong let out a warning growl.

“I don’t want to hear your ‘almost’!” he snapped with such a sudden hostility that Yoongi cast him a bewildered look. But Junsu only sighed a “sorry, hyung, forget it” and everything seemed to be normal again.

“Junsu-yah.” Jaejoong’s voice was syrupy sweet, as if nothing had happened. He raised his head and peeked over Junsu’s shoulder, dark eyes darting between the other vampire and Yoongi. “Susu. Jyunjyu. My dearest Junsu. Tell me, please, how exclusive is the thing you have with your lover-boy?”

Junsu coughed uncomfortably. “Hyung…”

Jaejoong smirked and turned his eyes at Yoongi. “What do you say, beautiful?”

“I… I…” Yoongi stared at Jaejoong. “Are you serious or joking?”

Well, technically he was not dating Junsu. But… it did not feel right somehow.

Fortunately Junsu came to rescue him. “Hyung, stop bothering Yoongi.”

Jaejoong let out another fake sniffle. “And there goes my amazing threesome. I’m doomed to die of loneliness. Don’t forget me, my friends.”

“Drama queen,” Junsu muttered and yelped loudly a second later. Jaejoong had bitten him again.

Yoongi snorted at this and reached for his phone to check the time. He should get up soon and look for Jimin and Jungkook. They were probably doing a lot worse than him at the moment. He really hoped someone was with them. Taemin, for example.

The phone screen announced to him that it was 11:35 am.

11:35? But he had just woken up? At early morning?

Yoongi turned to the two vampires again. “What’s the time?”

Jaejoong had hidden his face into Junsu’s hair now and Junsu was trying to slap him at the back of his head. “Around noon probably.”

“But it’s dark outsi-” Yoongi glanced at the window and saw that the blinds were still closed. Right, vampires and their aversion towards daylight. “I thought it was morning.”

It explained why he felt so rested, at least.

“Where are the others? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Relax,” Junsu smiled at him and tried to wiggle out of Jaejoong’s embrace. Unsuccessfully. “I would have woken you if there had been something going on.”

“Mmh,” Jaejoong confirmed. “Come here, the chair is big enough for all of us.”

Yoongi felt guilt settling in. “I have to go and check how Jimin and Jungkook are doing.” He wanted to get up from bed, but realised that he was naked behind the blanket.

“I put your clothes in the drawer of the night stand,” Junsu directed him. “Hyung, enough of cuddling, let me go now.”

“No,” Jaejoong mumbled petulantly into Junsu’s hair.

Yoongi opened the drawer and found his clothes, neatly folded. He took out his pants and T-shirt and put them on. Yes, his back was definitely hurting when he moved, but it was nothing too serious.

“Hyung,” Junsu protested again.

“Heartless brat,” Jaejoong muttered and rose from the chair, still clutching Junsu’s waist. “Give me a kiss, at least.”

Yoongi turned around just in time to see Jaejoong holding Junsu’s face between his hands and planting a firm kiss right to the younger’s lips. Junsu made a noise of surprise, but did not seem to mind otherwise.

From the objective point of view, Yoongi had to admit a little reluctantly, they did look good together. And no, he was definitely not jealous.

With two quick steps, Jaejoong was in front of Yoongi, took a hold of his chin and pressed a kiss to his forehead. At Yoongi’s dumbfounded gaze, he laughed and flicked the other’s nose. “Ah, you’re too cute.”

Yoongi’s look turned into a glare.

“That’s what I keep telling him,” Junsu remarked from the side, “but he doesn’t believe me.”

Yoongi glared at Junsu as well and Jaejoong laughed some more.

“He’s actually worried,” Junsu told him, after Yoongi had taken a shower and gotten properly dressed. “He just… tries to cope, somehow. He hates it when he can’t do anything.”

Yoongi nodded stiffly and adjusted his scarf to hide the marks Junsu had left on his neck. “Yeah, me too.”

Junsu gave him a puzzled look. “What’s with you? Your smell is off. I mean, more than usual.”

Yoongi shrugged, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed. “Nothing. Well, apart from the fact that there is a strong possibility of Taehyung dying tonight.”

Junsu sat next to him on the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. “Yoongi…”

The man shook his head. “No, don’t. Whatever you’re going to say, it won’t help.”

Junsu sighed. “I’ll ask Jaejoong-hyung to come back, honestly. At least then you have no time to think about anything else than his stupid jokes.”

Yoongi felt his mouth curving in a half-smile. “You’re really close friends,” he remarked idly.

“We are,” Junsu agreed, but then he fell silent abruptly. When Yoongi turned to the vampire, Junsu was staring at him with a strange look in his eyes.

“What?”

“Oh.” Junsu sounded amused. “We are not together. I would have told you otherwise. You were wondering about this?”

Yoongi quirked an eyebrow at the other. “Did you catch this from my smell as well, master detective?”

Junsu grinned back at him. “No, just a logical guess.”

“Okay.”

“However, I have slept with him before,” Junsu added. “Does it bother you?”

“No, what the… no, hyung, not at all.” Great, now he had left the other an impression of him as some lovesick schoolgirl. “No, it would be plain stupid… we’re not even… I mean, most of it was certainly before… I just wanted to say it’s your life, you can do with it whatever you want without reporting me anything. I was just asking.”

Well, his rambling probably did not make it any better. And now Junsu was watching him with a slightly confused yet somewhat endearing expression that made Yoongi feel both embarrassed and oddly warm.

“I’m going to check on Jimin and Jungkook,” he blurted out and stood up quickly.

“Fourth door to your right!” Junsu called after him. “By the way, you look really cute when you blush.”

“Fuck off, hyung,” Yoongi muttered and slammed the door shut, cheeks burning and a stupid smile on his face. The smile, at least, was quite easy to deal with.

Yoongi was right. Jimin and Jungkook were doing much worse than him. The tension in their room was almost palpable. Jungkook was scrolling through his phone, dark bags under his eyes and leg bouncing nervously. Jimin was curled up in a bed, raising his head only for a moment when Yoongi opened the door and cautiously peeked inside.

Jungkook motioned for Yoongi to sit. “Heard anything, hyung?”

Yoongi took a seat on the chair and shook his head, suddenly insecure of his scarf. Or what it was hiding, to be precise. “Nothing you haven’t already heard, I guess. Leeteuk has assigned more of his men to watch the churches, Amber is messing with security cameras… Ah, and Jaejoong-hyung visited both U-Know and the leader of Geum Saja Pa – they were the ones who were also dealing with hunters, remember? – anyway, he found out that Taehyung is with neither of them.”

“I didn’t know that last one.” Jungkook looked up from his phone. “Is Jaejoong-hyung sure?”

Yoongi shrugged. “He seemed to be.”

Jungkook nodded mechanically and resumed his scrolling. Yoongi did not know what to say any more.

“Where’s Taemin-hyung?” he asked, just for the sake of asking. He usually liked silence, but in this room the silence was unbearable.

Jungkook motioned to a glass door that apparently lead to a balcony. “Outside. Smoking his lungs out. And your boyfriend?”

Yoongi felt his cheeks growing hot again. “He’s not my boyfriend!” His voice came out unnaturally high.

Jungkook cast him a curious look, eyes lingering on Yoongi’s scarf, but shrugged then and abandoned Yoongi for his phone again.

Yoongi’s own phone ringing saved him from further embarrassment. He jumped up and headed for the door, but a cough from Jungkook made him stop.

“You…” the youngest started, seeming flustered all of a sudden. “You can… if it’s not something private… you don’t have to leave.”

Yoongi looked at Jungkook, puzzled. “You want me to stay?”

The boy sighed and fiddled with his phone. “You don’t have to… just…” He blinked his eyes and looked away quickly. “You’re… you’re the only normal human being in this fucking hell!”

“Hey!” came a muffled protest from Jimin.

“You too,” Jungkook mumbled. “Whatever.” He turned back to Yoongi. “Sorry, hyung. Go. I don’t… sorry.”

Yoongi shook his head and sat next to Jungkook on the bed. “No, it’s okay. I’ll stay. I just… need to take this call.” He glanced at the screen. “It’s Namjoon, my friend. Nothing private, I guess.”

“Finally!” Namjoon’s voice greeted Yoongi as soon as he had answered the call. “You took ages there, hyung.”

“Yeah, yeah, hello to you too,” Yoongi grumbled. “What’s up?”

Nothing was up, essentially. Namjoon had just found a movie he liked – some philosophical bullshit again – and asked Yoongi to go to the cinema tonight with him and Seokjin.

“Um…” Yoongi stammered, thinking what to say, “tonight’s not a good time.”

“You’ve got plans for the night?” Namjoon faked a surprise. “I mean, actual plans, besides hanging out on your couch and having an affair with a soju bottle.”

“Fuck you,” Yoongi spat.

“No, but really, hyung,” the younger went on. “I even got us tickets.”

“Namjoon-ah,” Yoongi sighed. “I really can’t.”

It came out more shaky than intended and Namjoon unmistakeably picked that up. Of course.

“Are you all right, hyung?”

“Yeah… I mean, no, not really.” Yoongi fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “I… it’s a fucking mess right now, but…”

“Hyung? Where are you? Do you want me to pick you up?”

Yoongi shook his head, but realised that Namjoon could not see it over the phone. “No, it’s okay, just… I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Are you sure?” Now Namjoon sounded really concerned. “Don’t do anything stupid, please.”

Yoongi snorted. “When have I ever?”

“Well… that one time when you went to a pub and started a fight with three dudes at once. Then that time when you were drunk as fuck and thought it would be a good idea to pick a fight with a bartender _and_ a bouncer. Then that time when…”

“Okay, okay, I get it, you can shut up now.”

Namjoon was actually silent for a while.

“You can talk to me whenever you want,” he offered at last. “Or” – there was a teasing note in his voice again – “father Choi would be delighted to see you.”

Father Choi was a priest in Myeongdong catholic church and a friend of Namjoon’s own father who worked as a chief accountant for the said church. The priest was a little old man, shorter than Yoongi – which was actually nice for a change –, friendly and soft-spoken, but he had this irritably self-confident air around him that did not sit well with Yoongi. He had met father Choi exactly twice and both times they had ended up arguing.

“Fuck you,” Yoongi scoffed. “What do you want me to tell him? ‘Forgive me, daddy, for I have sinned; I fucked the son of a church chief accountant three years ago’?”

Jungkook smirked at this.

Namjoon was laughing now. “Two and a half years,” he corrected Yoongi.

“What, keeping a calendar? Eww.”

“Of course,” Namjoon chuckled. “An accountant’s son and all, you know.”

“Creepy.” The balcony door opened and Taemin came in quietly. “But no, Namjoon-ah, I can’t go tonight. I’m already… going out.”

This did not make things better, of course. “I’d think you have found a girlfriend – or a boyfriend,” Namjoon teased, “but it’s you, so you’ve rather joined a cult or something.”

“A cult? Yeah, sure, we’re breaking into your dad’s church tonight and stealing all the altar candles. For some…” Yoongi wiggled his eyebrows even if Namjoon could not see it “… deep and dark magic.”

“Dark magic your ass,” Namjoon laughed.

“If I remember correctly it was _your_ ass.”

“You fucker, it was one time. And _you_ came up with that stupid bet.”

“Yes, but you were the one who did it.”

Namjoon was still laughing. “I have bad news, you can’t break into the church tonight. Some dudes rented it for a midnight sermon.”

“Who the hell goes to church at midnight? Someone needs a life, seriously.”

“Some members of a Dominican order. At least, that’s what they said. Talked something about sacred mysteries and initiation rites. And they wanted the cathedral for a whole night. Demanded a total privacy.”

“Sounds like a plot for a horror movie.” Yoongi snorted. “Or for a porn. Are you sure you don’t want to put up some cameras?”

“Dad was really suspicious about them,” Namjoon admitted. “He said that he couldn’t put his finger on it, but they seemed quite… creepy? And here comes the weirdest thing – they offered the church thirty million won.”

“Thirty million… what the fuck?”

Namjoon hummed. “Dad actually asked the Archbishop to turn them down, but the church is trying to raise funds for the renovation of the side chapels and the steeple. And those dudes promised to donate thirty million won for the renovation, so the Archbishop agreed to let them in. And they will also pay the full rent – the donation is a separate thing.”

“Okay. Whatever.”

A muffled noise behind Yoongi made him turn his head. Jimin had sat up on the bed and was staring at him. He was not the only one – Jungkook had put away his phone and the boy’s round eyes were fixated at Yoongi. And Taemin had stepped closer, the look on his face downright predatory.

Yoongi raised his brow and mouthed “What?” at them.

Then it clicked.

“Namjoon-ah.” Yoongi tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice was still shaking a little. “Do you know anything more about these dudes?”

“What?” Namjoon had surely caught the change in his tone. “No, I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

Yoongi breathed in and out. Slowly. “Has your father seen them?”

“Yeah, he was there with the Archbishop. But why…”

“Ask him,” Yoongi cut the other off. “Ask him to describe them to you in detail. And then call me again.”

“Hyung, what’s going on?”

“I… it’s complicated. Please, ask your father. I’ll explain you then.”

“Okay…” Namjoon did not sound convinced, but he did not argue further. “I’ll call you back.”

Yoongi ended the call and looked at the others. “Holy shit. I really hope this is it.”

“Which church?” Taemin was already halfway out of the door.

“Myeongdong cathedral.”

“Myeongdong?” The vampire tilted his head curiously. “The national cathedral itself? Ooh, fancy.”

“Holy shit,” Yoongi could only repeat.

Namjoon was pretty quick to call back. Yoongi put the phone on a speaker, so that Jungkook and Jimin could also hear the conversation.

“So,” Namjoon started, “there were two men and a woman talking to the Archbishop. They looked… normal. At least that’s what dad said. In black suits, rather classy. Dominican Associate members. They wanted the cathedral for a nighttime sermon, from ten at night until two at morning, but it was a bit… strange. Like, they were weirdly specific with the privacy thing.”

“Anything else? Some… I don’t know… strange jewellery? Tattoos? Whatever.”

“No, that’s all. I guess.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“And why did you ask?”

Yoongi was fiddling with his shirt again. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“Hyung, you’re creeping me out.”

“Promise me.”

“Okay, okay, I promise. But…”

“My boss is kidnapped.”

“Your… ki- what the fuck? Are you kidding me?”

“My boss is kidnapped,” Yoongi repeated. “It’s not a joke. Taehyung. I have told you about him.”

“Holy fuck,” Namjoon whispered. “And why… how… you have any idea who it might have been?”

“It… it’s a long story. But I know that they want to kill him tonight. At the time of the full moon. In a church.”

“What the fuck. How do you know it? Are you sure?”

“I’m absolutely sure.”

“Is he… is he in some weird cult or something?”

Yoongi scratched the side of his neck. He accidentally pressed on a bruise left by Junsu’s teeth and winced. “Or something.”

“And you want to go to the church alone? What if they kill you as well?”

“No, not alone.”

Namjoon was silent for a while, but Yoongi could almost hear him thinking. “He’s in some gang, right?”

“Basically yeah.”

“Fuck.”

“Indeed.”

The door opened and Taemin tiptoed into the room again. Hoseok and Amber were with him.

“Amber re-checked the security cameras of the Myeongdong cathedral,” Taemin half-whispered. “There’s a glitch in the system that wasn’t there in the morning.”

“So,” Namjoon’s voice sounded again through the speaker, “what are you gonna do?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Go there, I guess.”

“Hyung, it’s dangerous. They’re going to…”

“May I?” Amber interrupted them and sat next to Yoongi. “Hello! I’m Amber.”

“Hello?” Namjoon’s voice sounded tentative.

“Your father works for the Myeongdong church, right?”

“Right…”

“What does he do? What’s his occupation?”

“A chief attendant. But…”

“A chief attendant? Excellent.” Amber was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about something. “I heard they’re paying the church thirty million won?”

“Yes. And… and a full rent also. Thirty million was a separate donation.”

The woman’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Wow. Okay. Are the rent and the donation registered in the church’s bank account? Or did they pay under the table?”

“Registered, I’m pretty sure. Otherwise my father would have mentioned it.”

“Okay, good. I need your father’s phone number.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your father’s phone number,” Amber said again. “I want to talk to him about some things.”

“What are you gonna to do him?”

“Namjoon-ah,” Yoongi cut in. “Please. They won’t do anything to your dad. They just… they just want Taehyung alive.”

“I need to check the church’s bank account,” Amber explained. “It will take less time to get the passwords from your father than to figure them out by myself.”

“Okay,” Namjoon breathed. “I’ll send the number to Yoongi. But I really don’t want him to get involved into… this.”

“He won’t be,” Amber promised.

Yoongi’s phone screen lighted up, announcing the incoming message. “Okay, done.”

Amber took a picture of the screen and hurried out of the room. “Thank you, Namjoon-ssi,” she called over her shoulder.

“So,” Hoseok took over. “Tonight, right?”

“Umm… who am I talking to?”

“Oh, right,” Hoseok realised. “J-Hope. Yoongi knows me, don’t worry. Do you know when will the church be empty for the night?”

“Look,” Namjoon started tentatively, “I really want to know what I’m getting myself into. I don’t want myself or my family killed, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Hoseok sat at the bed, next to Yoongi. “Has Yoongi told you about his boss?”

“Taehyung? Yes. He’s kidnapped, I heard.”

“Exactly,” Hoseok confirmed. “He’s a member of… our clan. Okay, long story short, some of our enemies have taken him and are planning to kill him in a church tonight. We weren’t sure of the exact church, but your story has some interesting coincidences with the information we already have. We don’t want you to actually do anything, and nothing will happen to you or your family. If Myeongdong is the right church, we’ll kill Taehyung’s captors and that’s it. And if it isn’t… well, then you or your father have absolutely no part in the conflict so you wouldn’t need to worry.”

“Okay.” Namjoon still sounded unsure. “The last mass starts at seven in the evening on weekdays and ends around eight. The church should be empty half past eight.”

“And when will those dudes arrive?”

“My father said their reservation starts at ten o’clock at night.”

Hoseok hummed thoughtfully. “Good. Thank you. That should be all. I hope we don’t have to bother you any more.”

“One question,” Namjoon spoke quickly. “Is Yoongi-hyung coming with you?”

“Well,” Hoseok drawled, “I’d rather keep him away from…”

“I’ll come,” Yoongi cut in.

Hoseok raised his brow at him. “If you want to get yourself killed, be my quest. But I have this unpleasant feeling that your lovely boyfriend will break my neck if something bad happened to you.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Yoongi protested.

“Hook-up. Date. Fuckbuddy. Whatever. Doesn’t change anything else I said.”

“Hyung, you’ve got a boyfriend?” Yoongi could almost see the smug grin in Namjoon’s voice. “Wow, congratulations! Didn’t think my eyes will see the day.”

Yoongi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He. Is. Not. My. Boyfriend.”

“Yet,” Jungkook supplied.

“Fuck you all.”

Junsu was not happy with Yoongi coming along and Jeongsu initially outright refused. Especially when Amber confirmed that the people renting the Myeongdong cathedral were not a part of the Dominican order, but almost certainly the hunters. But then Jaejoong said that Jimin and Jungkook should be there.

“Vampires are very sensitive to every little nuance in the blood they drink,” he explained. “I don’t know in which state Taehyung will be when we get him, but I’m sure he needs a lot of blood to regain his energy. Most of it can come from the hunters we’ll hopefully kill, but there will definitely be some… unpleasant side effects. Blood from the people who give it to him willingly may quicken the healing process.”

With Jimin and Jungkook going, Jeongsu finally caved. But, as the leader of Bam Jangmi Pa stressed, he would not take any responsibility for Yoongi’s possible death. And even if Yoongi came along with the others, he had to wait outside the church with Jimin and Jungkook until the fight was over. At least Amber promised to keep them company – she had to check the security cameras.

“If I stay here, I’ll go crazy with nerves,” Yoongi grumbled when Junsu took him aside and pleaded him not to go.

“And if you go there, you may die!” the vampire hissed.

Yoongi shrugged. “Won’t all of us, eventually? All humans, at least. Might as well have some fun on the meantime.”

“You have an exceptionally weird understanding of _fun_.” Junsu spat out the last word almost angrily.

“I can’t even actually go to the church!” Yoongi complained. “I don’t get it why you worry so much.”

Truth was, he wanted to be with Junsu. He was getting too attached, he thought with a mild concern, but he had been through a lot during the last two days and he felt he had every right to indulge himself a little.

Junsu’s gaze pondered on him. “It’s the lack of feelings thing, isn’t it? What you told me when we first met. You deliberately put yourself in danger, because when you’re afraid then you’re at least feeling something.”

“Maybe.”

“And haven’t you had enough fear during yesterday and the day before?”

Yoongi shook his head. “It’s not the same thing. I hate sitting here and waiting, not knowing what’s happening to y– to all of you. I’d rather have a first-row seat to the grand event.”

“What first-row seat?” Junsu eyed him suspiciously. “Don’t you even try to get into the church. You’ll wait for us in the car with Amber, Jimin and Jungkook. The only first-row seat you’ll have is in front of Amber’s computer.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.”

The vampire tapped Yoongi’s nose. “Aww, don’t sulk like this. Stay safe and enjoy the show. I’ll wave at you when I see a camera.”

“Oh, I’ll definitely enjoy.” Yoongi smirked at the other. “Do you know that you look fucking sexy when you’re in a fight?”

Junsu stared at him disbelievingly. “Come here.”

Yoongi stepped closer and happily let the vampire grab him by the neck and kiss him breathless.

“What are you doing here?”

Namjoon raised his hands in a placative gesture. “I’m not going to leave you alone in this, hyung. If you’re going in there, I’m going as well.”

Yoongi stared at him. They had parked almost all of their cars farther and had walked to the church to avoid any suspicions. Amber had stayed in her custom-made car which looked rather ordinary from the outside, but actually accommodated a bunch of computers and a radio control centre, and Jimin and Jungkook had been left with her. It had gotten dark again. Something wet and icy was falling from the sky and gradually soaking through their clothes. And Namjoon had been waiting for them at the front door.

“It’s not a fucking game!” Jeongsu snapped.

Namjoon nodded tentatively. “I know. That’s why I brought the church’s master key. You may need it. The entrances to the triforium are usually locked when it’s not Sunday, but I thought it might be a good place to position the gunmen or whatever.”

Jeongsu took the key, a bit calmer now. “Well, thank you. I’d strongly advise you to stay away of this, but if you so desperately want to die, who am I to stop you? And remember, Yoongi, you’re not going in there. As soon as the service is over, you’ll go and wait in the car with Amber.”

“I hope this wasn’t the boyfriend,” Namjoon half-whispered when Jeongsu had left. “He seems even grumpier than you, hyung.”

“Nope,” Jackson chirped before Yoongi could say anything. “It’s the boss himself. And don’t mind him, he’s just on the edge with tonight’s operation. The boyfriend is a red-haired guy with a gorgeous ass. I’m Jackson, by the way. And you have a really pretty smile.”

“Thank you.” Namjoon seemed a bit taken aback by the other’s forwardness. “I am Namjoon. You’re… not from Korea, are you?”

Jackson shook his head, a mischievous grin growing on his face. “From Hong Kong. Also known as the place where Yoongi-hyung went with his boyfriend last night if their noises were anything to go by. I wasn’t spying, hyung, I just happened to pass your door.”

Namjoon burst into laughter as Yoongi huffed with annoyance. “How many times do I have to tell you that he is not my boyfriend?”

Jackson winked at him. “If I were you, I’d try to change it as soon as possible. Oh… hey, Junsu-ssi! We were talking about you.”

Namjoon looked at Junsu and instinctively took a step back. Yoongi got it. Even if Junsu was not trying to lure or seduce anyone, there was something off about him. He looked almost like a human, like a very beautiful human, but… not entirely. Maybe it was his pale skin, maybe the cat-like way he moved, maybe his black bottomless eyes.

Yes, definitely his eyes.

Sometimes Yoongi wondered how were the vampires able to convincingly disguise as humans. For him the difference was clear as day. But maybe it was because he knew what to look at. And, as Taehyung had once said, people tended to see what they wanted to see. When they did not believe into vampires, they did not see them. The subconscious felt that something was wrong, but the rational mind brushed it over.

Yoongi could attest to that. When he had first met Junsu, it had taken quite a lot for the other to convince him that vampires did actually exist.

Namjoon got himself together pretty quickly and gave Junsu a thorough once-over, though he still seemed tenser than before. “So this is the not-boyfriend. Wow, hyung.”

“His name is Junsu,” Jackson added, “and he looks every bit like it.”

“Oh, stop,” Junsu pleaded, laughing. “Why does everyone have to make fun of my name? And what’s with the not-boyfriend?”

“Me and Namjoon have a little disagreement with Yoongi,” Jackson explained. “We think that you guys are dating, but he insists otherwise.”

“Maybe they are dating, but don’t know it yet,” Namjoon suggested.

“Fuck you,” Yoongi grumbled.

Junsu giggled at that. “I’d prefer if you’d fuck me instead of them, to be honest.”

“Hyung!” Yoongi exclaimed while the others were laughing their heads off. “You’re terrible!”

“I know,” Junsu smirked and leaned forward to whisper in Yoongi’s ear, “That goes with being a vampire.”

Jackson wiped his eyes, still laughing. “I’d change his title from not-boyfriend to not-yet-boyfriend. Anyway,” he continued, a little more serious, “we’re going to the church as soon as the service is over. Junsu-ssi, you have to wait for J-Hope and he will assign you to your post. We don’t know how many of these bastards will be in there, so Leeteuk has sent a word and some of our men will join us by ten o’clock. They’ll attack from the side doors – if you see them, don’t worry, they’re ours. And you –” now he was talking to Namjoon and Yoongi again “– just stay in the car, wait for us and don’t get yourself killed.”

The evening service seemed to drag on forever. Some of Jeongsu’s men were already in the church, most were hidden somewhere and a few were patrolling around the church as discreetly as possible. Jaejoong and Taemin were nowhere to be seen – Junsu had last spotted them near the church’s side door and assumed that Leeteuk had sent them off to some task.

Junsu walked to the staircase opposite the church and plopped down on the stone railing. Yoongi and Namjoon followed suit. The snow – or rain? – had ceased a little and the street lights provided them with quite a nice view to the church and the square around it.

The church made Yoongi anxious, so he looked at Namjoon and Junsu again. His younger friend was scrolling through his phone with one hand, the other tapping a nervous rhythm on his thigh. Junsu, on the contrary, was sitting still. His eyes were closed and only a wrinkle between his eyebrows hinted at some tension.

Yoongi nudged Junsu with his elbow. “Hyung, what are you doing?”

The vampire opened his eyes. “Praying.”

“Praying?” Yoongi whispered incredulously. “You?”

“Yes?” One of Junsu’s eyebrows rose in a perfect arch. “Why not? I mean, yes, my church visits are quite erratic, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t pray when I feel the need to.”

Yoongi glanced at Namjoon. The younger was still focused on his phone and the never-ending noise of Seoul’s traffic masked their quiet conversation somewhat.

“But you… I mean, vampires in general… I just didn’t think you’d be a praying type.”

“What?” Junsu quipped. “Do we look like some kind of half-devils to you?”

“No, no,” Yoongi rushed to apologise, because Junsu seemed genuinely upset. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like this. I was just… ugh, I don’t know. Sorry, hyung.”

Junsu’s sharp eyes pondered him until Yoongi started to feel uncomfortable. “How did you mean it then?”

“I just...” Yoongi twisted his fingers nervously. “I don’t think that you’re some kind of beast or demon or devil, really. I… it… just… vampires and religion together… it seems kind of odd.”

“Why?”

Yoongi shrugged. “The stories about vampires? The depiction of them in a pop culture? I mean, I know that most of it is bullshit and you are nothing like this, but…”

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu interrupted his rambling. “Are you afraid of me?”

“What, hyung? No.”

Okay, sometimes he was. Especially when Junsu looked at him with eyes gleaming red, his elongated fangs peaking out from between his lips. But did this fear count if Yoongi voluntarily sought for it?

“And do you do all this –” Junsu made a vague gesture between them “– because you want to or because I haven’t really given you the chance to say no?”

Now it was Yoongi’s turn to stare at the vampire. Junsu seemed oddly worried.

“Hyung, what the fuck?”

It came out louder than he had intended.

Junsu’s eyes flicked to Namjoon and Yoongi followed his gaze. Namjoon was looking at them curiously, but quickly raised his hands and backed off.

“Don’t mind me. Sort out your relationship things before the great battle. I wasn’t eavesdropping, honestly.”

Yoongi snorted and Junsu smiled bashfully.

“So,” Yoongi turned to Junsu again, “care to explain what this utter crap was about?”

Junsu lifted his eyebrow at Yoongi’s harsh words. “I just know how much of an effect vampire can have on a human. I’m talking about our spells. We are predators who seduce their prey.”

Yoongi sighed. “Hyung, I like you. Haven’t you noticed?”

Junsu nodded slowly. “The feeling is mutual, but…”

“You think you have put me under your spell? That I want to be with you only because you have bewitched me or something? That I can’t think with my own head when you’re near me, because of your vampire charms or whatever? Why then did this feeling last when you were away?”

“You wanted to be with me when I was away?”

Yoongi could not help but laugh. This conversation was becoming ridiculous. “Hyung, look in the mirror. You’re beautiful, you’re handsome, you’re sexy, you’re cute…”

Junsu’s lips curled into a smile. “Oh dear, stop with the cute. You sound like Jaejoong-hyung. It’s weird.”

Yoongi frowned at that and looked away. He knew he was being childish, but the thought of Jaejoong saying these things to Junsu made something bitter turn in his stomach. When he glanced back at Junsu, he found the vampire staring at him curiously.

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu said, a hint of laughter in his tone. “You can’t just start sulking every time I mention Jaejoong-hyung.”

“I’m not–”

“I’m flattered on the one hand,” Junsu continued, “and a bit relieved, because you being jealous assures me that your attraction is voluntary…”

“I’m not jealous!”

“… but on the other hand, Jaejoong-hyung is my best friend. I’m not going to sleep with him behind your back, but I also won’t stop hanging out with him. And he flirts with everyone, including me. He isn’t going to change because of you. And, to be honest, I don’t want him to change.”

Now Yoongi was feeling very stupid on top of everything else. “Hyung, I’m sorry. It’s your life, you don’t have to explain me anything. It’s… I’m just tired and nervous and not in the best mood. And I’m not jealous or anything.”

Okay, the last one was a lie and Junsu definitely caught on it.

“Yoongi,” he said carefully, “I know…”

They were interrupted by Hoseok who came to them, running.

“We have a problem,” he stated. “Junsu-ssi, please come with me.”

Junsu rose from where he was sitting. “Don’t think you’ve escaped the conversation,” he warned Yoongi half-jokingly, before turning to Hoseok. “What’s the problem?”

“Taemin can’t enter the church,” Hoseok answered, with a voice so low that Yoongi barely heard him.

“Damn,” Junsu uttered. “I was afraid of something like this. Yoongi-ah, please come with us.”

Hoseok shook his head. “But he had to wait for us with Amber.”

“We need him there right now. I’ll explain later.”

“Excuse me.” Namjoon had stood up. “What’s going on?”

“We need Yoongi for a moment,” Junsu answered him. “Wait for him here, he’ll be back soon.”

“No, I’ll go with him.”

“Namjoon, stop,” Yoongi told his friend. “I’ll be back.”

“But why do you have to go? What do they need you for? What’s happening?”

“We need to hurry!” Hoseok hissed. “The service is going to end soon.”

“Okay,” Junsu said quickly. “Come with us, Namjoon-ssi. And… try not to freak out too much.”

* * *

Taemin and Jaejoong were standing in the darkest corner of the church square, behind a tree that was shading them from the light of a street lamp. They were arguing, but their voices were so quiet that even the nearby patrol did not hear them. Only the statue of Saint Kim Taegon Andrew was the silent witness of their conversation.

“Stop with this nonsense!” Jaejoong hissed. “It’s not going to work, how many times do I have to tell you?”

“Hyung, I can’t go on like this any more,” Taemin whispered back to him. “Sometimes you act like you want me, then you push me away again…”

“I don’t _want_ you!”

“Last time you said otherwise.”

“I was drunk!”

Taemin sighed. “It has been like this for almost two years. When you’re drunk you tell me you like me and when you’re sober you pretend as if nothing happened. And then you go and sleep with Junsu-hyung. Or, even worse…”

“What I do with Junsu is not your business!”

“Or, even worse, hook up with some random strangers at U-Know’s parties.”

“And who gave you the right to stick your nose into my sex life?”

“I know you like me,” Taemin whispered sharply.

“I don’t do relationships!”

“I’m not asking for a relationship!”

“You’re my friend for heaven’s sake! I’m not going to fuck this up.”

Taemin looked at the older vampire with a frown. “And what about Junsu-hyung? Isn’t he your friend too? I can’t say that sleeping with him has made your friendship any worse.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Jaejoong pressed through his teeth.

Taemin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another.

“How so?” he finally asked, voice a lot softer than before.

Jaejoong turned his face away and dug his front teeth into his lower lip.

“Hyung?”

Jaejoong gulped. “Look… Junsu is… he’s not…” He attacked his lip with a new vigour, until his teeth bit through the flesh and a thick drop of dark blood came out. It seemed to calm him a little. “There’s never been a chance of Junsu falling for me like this. He… loves another… has always loved him… and will always love him, even now, when he’s with this human boy. We were… a comfort to each other, but… but never anything more, never anything beyond that. I can’t… couldn’t break his heart like that. And it kind of… calmed me down. He loves me too much to let our friendship go waste… and he doesn’t love me enough to have his heart broken by me. It’s not possible to mess up with him this way. But… but you…”

Jaejoong fell silent again, until Taemin gently touched his hand. “What about me?”

The elder shook his head. “It’s not going to work.”

“But what if I tried it too? To remain friends?”

Jaejoong let out a bitter laugh. “Taemin-ah, do you like me as a friend?”

Taemin swallowed heavily. “No… but what if I pretend?”

“Pretend?” Jaejoong grabbed the younger by shoulders and stared at his face. There was anger in his black eyes. “You’d do it, wouldn’t you? Pretend for my sake and let me ruin you and hurt you? And then, finally, you’ll come to your senses and leave me and hate me forever.”

“Hyung, I’d never…”

“Stay away from me!” Jaejoong let the other go and took a step back. “You’re… you’re too innocent and pure for…”

“No, I’m not,” Taemin interrupted the elder. “Hyung, tell me – tell me honestly –, do you want to be with me? For real? If you could be as selfish as you want.”

Something strange flickered in Jaejoong’s eyes, but then his gaze hardened again. “No, Taemin, I don’t want to.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

Jaejoong snorted. “I won’t.”

“Hyung…”

“Go away!” Jaejoong hissed. “The sooner the better.”

Taemin was slowly walking towards the side door where Hoseok had asked him to be by the end of the service.

“Jaejoong-hyung likes you,” Junsu had told him almost two years ago in that blunt way of his, when this weird thing with Jaejoong had been going on for a few weeks already. “What are you going to do about it?”

The memory made Taemin wince. He had been hopelessly in love with Jaejoong since the first time he had seen the other, but up till then Jaejoong had never shown any sign of sharing his feelings. And then, one time, when Jaejoong had come home from a party, he had cuddled up to Taemin, gazed the younger with his bleary, but oh-so-beautiful eyes, and declared that he liked Taemin… no, not only liked, but wanted him, desired him, _loved_ him.

Until then, Jaejoong had said the word _love_ only to Junsu.

Taemin had been over the moon… until the next morning.

“I hate it,” he remembered complaining to Junsu. “He said that he… that he loved me… and then he fell asleep on me and when he woke up, he acted as if nothing had happened.”

“Have you talked to him about it? I mean, when he has been sober?”

It was impossible to confront Jaejoong with something like this when he was sober, and Taemin had told Junsu so. The eldest vampire kept his feelings firmly under lock and key, hidden behind layers of jokes, careless flirting and cutting sarcasm. He only talked about feelings when he was so drunk that he did not have any filter.

“I beg to differ,” Junsu had said. “You need to give him time.”

“Yes, _you_ can talk to him about everything,” Taemin had muttered angrily. “With me he’ll probably be like ‘I don’t do relationships’ all over again.”

“He isn’t in a relationship with me either.”

“Yes, but you…” Maybe he had been unfair this time, but he had not been able to bring himself to stop, “Look, it has happened more than once. He tells me that he loves me… that he wants to be with me… and when I try to do anything, he tells me that he doesn’t want our first time to be like this, with him being drunk. And then, when he’s sober, he goes and sleeps with you!”

“Would you like us to stop?”

Taemin would have had to say one word and Junsu would have listened. But he would have felt too bad if he had used Junsu’s selflessness like this. Besides, it would have not changed much, anyway.

“Doesn’t matter. When he can’t have you, he’ll find someone from this bloody gang of his.”

“He does it anyway,” Junsu had said. Calmly, without an ounce of jealousy. “I’ve never tried to make him settle down with me.”

“But why you?” Taemin had asked with a near desperation. “Why not me as well? I wouldn’t even ask for an exclusive relationship.”

“He doesn’t want to ruin the friendship you have.”

“But you’re his friend as well!”

“But I’m not in love with him. And he’s not in love with me.”

“He isn’t in love with me either.”

“Sure,” Junsu had told him, smiling. “Whatever helps you sleep at… no, this expression only fits for the humans.”

The next part of their little conversation still made Taemin cringe with embarrassment. “So I could sleep with you and it wouldn’t ruin our friendship? Because you’re not in love with me and I’m not in love with you?”

Junsu had laughed, but not unkindly. “No, it won’t do.”

“Why?”

“When Jaejoong-hyung is with me, he does it because of me. He may think of you, even in the middle of the act itself, but he sees me as _me_. With you I’d only be a substitution for hyung. I don’t think I’d like it.”

Taemin had to admit that Junsu was right.

Well, now Junsu was with Yoongi anyway and Taemin had gotten the very thing he had felt too guilty to ask. Not that it made much difference in Jaejoong’s behaviour, just as he had predicted.

Taemin found himself wondering for how long will Junsu and Yoongi last. They seemed to be weirdly serious, even if they both insisted they were not dating. Junsu had never had a human lover – apart from those random flings with Jaejoong’s own acquaintances the older vampire had roped him into, and these hardly counted. Will Junsu get bored, once the novelty wears off? Will Yoongi give up when having a vampire as a boyfriend is going to clash too much with his normal life? Or, if they stay together, what will Junsu do when Yoongi inevitably gets older?

The side door where Taemin had to wait for the others was half-open. His sharp ears caught the priest reciting a litany behind two stone walls, the man’s high nasal voice rising and falling. Taemin walked up the stairs and stepped onto the threshold.

He felt as if colliding with an invisible wall. The air prickled with a static electricity and Taemin’s ears were ringing uncomfortably.

He could not get in.


	7. The Sacred Warriors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And… the battle is getting closer. This chapter contains many terms of sacral architecture, because I’m a nerd, so there’s a small dictionary just in case. If I’ve forgotten something (or used the wrong term), please let me know and I’ll fix it.
> 
> • Aisle – a passageway to either side of the nave.  
> • Apse (aka the most beautiful part of a cathedral :)) – the semicircular recess of the church where the altar is located; the term partly overlaps with sanctuary.  
> • Chapel – a smaller space inside the church with its own altar.  
> • Choir – the space between the sanctuary and the nave; often separated from the nave with a screen or railing.  
> • Nave – the main part of the church where most of the pews are; the central aisle.  
> • Sacristy – the room behind the church where priests’ robes and other ceremonial stuff is stored.  
> • Sanctuary – the area around the altar.  
> • Steeple – church tower topped by a spire.  
> • Transept – a part of the church which crosses the nave, giving the church its cross-like shape.  
> • Triforium – the side balcony of the church.

“Damn,” Taemin muttered. “Tell me again why I don’t like churches.”

Junsu looked at him with amusement. “You don’t like churches because your parents were stuck-up moralists who used to drag you to church against your will. It has nothing to do with this inconvenient protection.”

“It’s annoying, though.”

“And only a few older churches have it. Nothing is holding you back from going into newer buildings.”

“So you couldn’t tell me earlier that you can’t enter the church?” Hoseok sounded equal parts of irritated and concerned. “What are we going to…”

“We can’t enter this particular church,” Junsu corrected him. “It has… how do I explain it to you… well, basically there are protection spells cast over the church. They prohibit us from entering. Usually buildings from the 19th century don’t have these kind of things any more, because humans believe in our existence less and less, but churches sometimes tend to be exceptions.”

Hoseok nodded stiffly. “So, what now? It makes you as well as useless.”

Taemin shot the man a dirty glare, but Junsu’s mood did not seem to deter. “We need a human who willingly lets themselves to be bitten and draws a cross with their own blood on the threshold.”

“You can bite me,” Yoongi spoke up. “I won’t mind.”

“Oh, I know.” Junsu poked Yoongi’s scarf with one finger, just above the bite he had made the night before, and sent the man a smug smile. “That’s why I asked you to come along. Now we only need someone for Taemin-ah and Jaejoong-hyung.”

Hoseok took a step back, eyes quickly darting around. “Each one of you needs to bite a human?”

“Guys, really, what’s going on?” Namjoon was looking more and more confused.

Of course Jaejoong chose the exact moment to jump into the middle of them from seemingly nowhere. Even Yoongi and Hoseok were startled by his sudden arrival, but Namjoon seemed more than a little shocked.

“It’s protected,” the vampire pouted. “I can’t get in.”

“Wha…” Namjoon swallowed and stared at Jaejoong warily. “What’s protected?”

Yoongi sighed. His poor friend was soon going to discover his companions’ true nature anyway. “Namjoon-ah, promise me you won’t freak out. I’ll explain later.”

Namjoon did not seem convinced, but they had no time to deal with this right now. Hoseok looked more anxious with every passing moment.

“Hos- I mean J-Hope,” Yoongi continued, mentally scolding himself for the slip-up, “who is going to… wait.” He looked more closely at Hoseok’s stiff posture, at his nervous gaze and tense expression. “Are you afraid of biting?”

“What?!” the other exclaimed as if caught in the act. “Of course not. I just… I’d just rather not. It’s not the biting, it’s… their aura… their… whatever. But…” he turned to the vampires, “if you need to, you can totally bite me, I’m not afraid. Really.”

“No,” Junsu said, “it won’t do. You are afraid, say what you want. The human has to be willing.”

“Can’t you all just bite me?” Yoongi asked. “Or do you need a different human for each one of you?”

“No, we can,” Junsu assured him and Yoongi could swear he heard Hoseok breathe a sigh of relief. “You’re okay with this?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Yeah, of course.”

“Okay.” Junsu looked at the youngest vampire while Yoongi hurried to take off his scarf. “Taemin, you go first. Don’t wait for us.”

Taemin nodded. “Put your scarf back,” he told Yoongi, chuckling, but his laughter sounded a little forced. “No need to go all lovey-dovey. Your finger will do.”

Yoongi coughed with embarrassment and wrapped his scarf back around his neck. “So, how…”

Taemin took Yoongi’s left hand, opened his mouth and let his canines grow a bit. Then he scraped Yoongi’s index finger with one of his fangs and squeezed it lightly, until a drop of blood came out.

“Now –” the vampire crouched down and pulled Yoongi with him, “just draw a cross on the threshold. Doesn’t matter how big or small.”

Yoongi dragged his finger slowly over the polished stone, stopping once to press more blood out of the tiny wound. Taemin touched the drawing lightly, licked his own finger clean of Yoongi’s blood and stepped over the threshold.

“Thank you,” he called over his shoulder and gone he was.

“Hyung, what the hell?”

Yoongi looked at Namjoon. The younger’s face was an embodiment of bewilderment.

“What… what the fuck is this?” Namjoon’s eyes flickered between Jaejoong and Junsu. “Who are they?”

“Namjoon, look,” Yoongi began, “it’s a long story. I’ll…”

“We are vampires,” Junsu announced calmly. “And we are trying to rescue our friend, Taehyung, who has been captured by the vampire hunters. We’re not going to harm you or anyone else besides the hunters.”

Namjoon gawked at him. “Vampires are not real.”

Junsu smiled patiently. “Suit yourself. Jaejoong-hyung, please.”

Jaejoong looked at Junsu. Then at Yoongi. Then at Junsu again.

“Hyung?” Junsu asked, his momentary confusion making way to a somewhat tired annoyance. “Oh no, not again. When was the last time you fed?”

“It’s not only this,” Jaejoong argued. “It’s about my venom. You know.”

“Come on, hyung, you only need to graze him with your teeth.”

“Junsu, I…”

“No, but really, who are you?” It was Namjoon again.

“Namjoon,” Yoongi started, “now is not the…”

“Vampires,” Junsu interrupted him. “And we’re absolutely real. Want to see?” He leaned closer to Yoongi’s still bleeding finger and opened his mouth wide. Slowly, his canines grew into sharp fangs.

At least Namjoon did not scream, Yoongi had to give him that.

Junsu smiled at the perplexed human. “Satisfied?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Jaejoong again. “I’ll hold you back, hyung, if necessary. It’s only a scrape, nothing will happen.”

Yoongi raised his brow at them. “Excuse me, but now _I_ want to know what’s going on.”

Junsu shook his head. “Jaejoong-hyung hasn’t fed for a long time. So don’t freak out if he starts growling at you or something like this. He won’t kill you.”

Jaejoong gulped. He seemed very uncomfortable.

“I…” He coughed and looked away. “It’s not only this. I have a problem… with my venom.” His voice faded into a whisper, so that only Yoongi and Junsu could hear him. “I produce it too much. It’s… it’s nothing when there’s only a little of it, but in such a big amounts… it can be dangerous for humans. I can’t control it. It’s rather inconvenient, honestly.”

Yoongi nodded slowly. “But you don’t actually need to bite me? Just break the skin?”

Jaejoong swallowed again. “Okay. Okay… yes, I won’t actually bite you. Give me your finger.”

Yoongi extended his hand and Jaejoong opened his mouth. The vampire’s canines were much longer than Junsu’s or Taemin’s, and curved, slightly resembling the teeth of a rattlesnake. When he lowered his head, Yoongi saw transparent viscous fluid slowly dripping from the fangs. It fell onto Jaejoong’s pale lower lip and trickled down to his jaw. His neck was taut and his shoulders were trembling a little.

Jaejoong’s head moved as a flash and before Yoongi could even feel anything, the vampire backed away from him, covering his nose. Yoongi looked at his hand. There was a small wound on the pad of his middle finger, deeper than the one Taemin had made. In his haste, Jaejoong had probably underestimated the sharpness of his teeth. But it was not too bad.

Yoongi crouched down again and drew another little cross next to the first one. “Okay, hyung, all done.”

Jaejoong shot him a look, both grateful and slightly embarrassed. “Thank you.” He touched the cross and lifted a hand to his mouth. A low growl rose from his throat, but he turned away sharply and half-ran into the church.

A small smile graced Junsu’s lips. “Drama queen.” For a moment he stared at the now empty door, but then he took Yoongi’s hand and stroked over the knuckles with his thumb. “May I?”

Yoongi turned his hand, palm up. “Are you sure you want my hand? You could have my neck, you know.”

The other let out a short giggle and tugged Yoongi closer. “Then it becomes much more than a quick bite and I can’t take blood from you every day, as delightful as it may sound.”

Junsu’s mouth opened and Yoongi felt a sharp fang slowly digging into his skin. The vampire closed his lips and sucked around the ring finger, mischievous eyes flicking up to Yoongi’s face. Then the tooth retreated and Junsu released Yoongi’s finger with a pop.

Hoseok fake-gagged next to them and Junsu stuck his tongue out at him. Namjoon was still silent.

Yoongi drew the third cross at the threshold and Junsu made a show of touching it and licking off the blood, just to have Hoseok gagging again.

“Take it easy, man, we’re heading into battle,” the vampire chuckled. “Let us have some fun; soon it will be more than serious anyway.”

At this Hoseok’s scoff turned into a wide grin. “Serious? Oh no, Junsu-ssi, the real fun is just about to begin.”

Junsu smiled back at him and stepped over the threshold. “Okay,” he called in English, “let’s o!” Then he stopped for a moment, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “Let’s go!”

“But Yoongi…” Hoseok started.

“He has to come with us for a while.” Junsu sighed and shook his head. “I don’t like it, I don’t like it at all, but when the doors are protected, the choir and altar are most possibly also. We need Yoongi to break the spells, in case we can’t get to Taehyung before he’s taken to the altar. It will only take a few minutes and then he can go.”

Yoongi shrugged. “No problem. Tell me what I should do.”

Junsu nodded. “Come with me. We have to wait till the service is over, but I’ll show you then.”

“Hyung, wait,” Namjoon whispered before Yoongi could follow the others. “Please, what’s going on?”

Yoongi understood Namjoon’s confusion pretty well. He remembered how much it had taken Junsu to convince him, before he had even agreed to consider the existence of the vampires. But right now he didn’t have the time to explain his friend everything.

“He’s a vampire,” Yoongi simply said. “Junsu, I mean. Jaejoong, Taemin and Taehyung as well. All the others are humans. Taehyung is captured by the vampire hunters and we’re going to rescue him. I know it’s a lot to take in, but… I don’t know… just imagine for tonight that the vampires are real or something. We can talk more about it tomorrow.”

If he was still alive by tomorrow, of course. But he had three vampires and a bunch of gangsters with him, so what could go wrong?

They waited in a small antechamber. Taemin and Jaejoong had already sneaked in, with Hoseok in tow, but Junsu’s red hair would have drawn too much attention. Wearing a hat was out of the question, it would have been almost as noticeable in the church. So he asked Yoongi and Namjoon to stay with him and explained quickly what the former was supposed to do. At first they had to hide and wait until the priest was gone. Then Yoongi had to take some of Junsu’s blood, mix it with a few drops of his own and pour it onto the altar. And right after this he and Namjoon had to leave the church and go to Amber’s car as fast as possible.

“It sounds suspiciously easy,” Namjoon remarked. He seemed to have taken Yoongi’s advice and decided to just play along until he could get a better explanation for all the abnormal things he had seen this night. “What’s the point of a protection if it can be removed just like this?”

Junsu smiled smugly at him, but with his fangs still halfway out it looked more sinister than the vampire had probably intended. “A human has to be willing, that’s the main point in removing this kind of protections. Try to find a human who is crazy enough to voluntarily do it.”

Namjoon looked at Yoongi, then back at Junsu, then at Yoongi again, and nodded with a teasing grin. “Fair enough.”

Yoongi scowled at them until Junsu started laughing and kissed him as an apology. Namjoon whispered with a fake horror that they were desecrating the holy ground with their lascivious homosexual actions, Yoongi flipped him off, Junsu laughed into the kiss and for a moment everything felt almost normal again.

At first their plan seemed to work well enough. When the service was over, Yoongi and Namjoon entered the building, mingling with the people in the church, while Junsu was hiding behind the inner door. The church was dim, only a few lamps lit, casting long shadows behind the pillars and to the corners. They thought to go to the right side chapel and climb under a piano next to the wall near the chapel – not the most original hiding place, but they doubted anyone would come looking there for no reason. There they planned to wait until everyone, including the priest was gone, then call Junsu and perform the ritual as quickly as possible. Right now they only had to seize a moment when no-one was near the piano and…

“Oh my, am I dreaming? Yoongi? In the church?”

“Fuck,” Yoongi muttered, reluctantly turning around. There was Seokjin, the eldest of their little weird trio – and the weirdest, Yoongi and Namjoon always tried to claim. An amateur model, part-time barista and part-time…

Oh fuck.

Yoongi tried to smile, but even he could tell that it came out horribly forced. “Hello, altar boy. Where’s your wedding dress?”

Seokjin gasped with a fake offence. “You uncultured swine, how many times do I have to explain you the difference between a wedding dress and an alb? And don’t call me altar boy, it sounds creepy when you do it.”

Yoongi snickered. “Sorry, hyung. So, where’s your alb?”

“In the sacristy, I took it off after the mass. Why –”

“You took off your wedding dress?” Yoongi wiggled his eyebrows. “With the priest in the same room?”

Seokjin stared at the younger for a moment and then slapped him over the head, laughing hysterically.

“You’ve watched too much bad porn,” he finally told Yoongi when he had recovered from his laughing fit. “This is a church, not some sex dungeon.”

“Why not both?” Namjoon asked. “Church and sex dungeon don’t have to be mutually exclusive entities. If you look at the sacred marriage rites of the Sumerians or the ritual temple prostitution in Babylonia or the…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Seokjin drawled, “you’re the one to tell. Want some altar candles?”

“Hyung!” Namjoon exclaimed. “It was _one_ time and I was drunk! And it was Yoongi-hyung’s idea.”

“And your ass.”

“I hate you.”

Seokjin blew him a kiss. “Love you too, Joonie.”

“Fuck you, hyung. Fuck you both.”

Seokjin smirked. “In your dreams, pretty boy.”

“Bold of you to think I will ever dream of you.”

Seokjin’s smile only widened. “So, Yoongi-ah, what’s going on? Namjoon told me earlier that we’re not going to the movies tonight, because something came up, and now I see you here.”

“Um…” Yoongi did not know what to say. He could have played it off by making more fun of Namjoon, but eventually Seokjin would have demanded a real explanation. Or he could have told the truth, but it would have taken too much time to convince Seokjin to believe the existence of the vampires. And if he left out the vampires and just told about the gangsters, Seokjin would have flipped out and…

“Yoongi-ah? Everything okay?”

“Um… look, hyung…”

Of course Hoseok had to come to them exactly at this moment.

“Change of plans,” he said, paying Seokjin no heed. “To the hell with whatever Junsu wanted you to do. Leave the church and go to Amber’s car immediately.”

“What hap-”

“They’re here.” Hoseok glanced nervously at the main door. “Go now.”

He touched his ear-on, listened something, nodded and mumbled “get it”. Then he turned back to the others.

“I have to go,” he told them. “And you get out of here right now. Hurry up!”

He ran off to somewhere, leaving Yoongi and Namjoon with a very confused Seokjin.

“So, anybody wants to enlighten me?”

Yoongi gulped, cold sweat suddenly coating his palms. _They_ were here. And Junsu…

“Let’s go outside,” he said. “I’ll explain then.”

They went back to the small antechamber. Junsu was nowhere to be seen. Yoongi looked behind both doors and called the vampire quietly, but he got no answer.

“Hyung, we have to leave,” Namjoon told him. “If Junsu really is a… if he really is what you say he is, then he is capable of defending himself.”

Yoongi nodded dumbly. They had not heard anything, he tried to reason himself, no sounds of fighting whatsoever. It had to mean that Junsu was safe. It _had_ to.

Namjoon glanced out of the outer door and hastily pulled back.

“Shit,” he whispered. “They’re here.”

“Who –” Seokjin started to ask, but Namjoon grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him back into the church. Yoongi followed them.

“Joon, we can’t…”

“After me,” Namjoon ordered quietly. “Seokjin-hyung, we’ll tell you later.”

It was like a bad dream. They crouched down and crawled between the wall and the pews, until they reached the piano Namjoon and Yoongi had chosen as their hiding place before. The priest who had said the mass earlier was on the other end of the room, near the main door, talking to some men in black suits. Someone came through the door Yoongi had just entered with Namjoon and Seokjin, but fortunately they did not notice the trio.

Namjoon rose from the floor and crept past the piano, to the little door in the wall next to it. Yoongi and Seokjin hurried after him.

“Joon, what the fuck?” Yoongi whispered. “Where can we go from here?”

Namjoon took a key out of his pocket, put it in the lock and turned. The door opened silently.

“But you gave your master key to…”

“I have one more.” Namjoon ushered them through the door and locked it again. “Dad has an extra key, just in case.”

They were in a wide corridor. It was dark, the windows making up four grey rectangles in the otherwise black air. Namjoon showed a light from his mobile phone and led them to the sacristy door. At the end of the corridor there was a staircase going down to the basement floor.

Yoongi looked at the door, then at Namjoon with the phone, then back at the dark corridor. Suddenly something clicked in his mind.

“Wait, Joon,” Yoongi told him quietly. “Fuck, we’re so dumb.”

“What?”

“We’re just… think about it. We could have just walked out of the church. They would have thought we were attending the mass.”

Namjoon stared at Yoongi, his face half-lit by the phone, making him look like some cartoon villain. Then, abruptly, his eyes grew big and he put a hand on his mouth, dropping his phone in the process.

“Shit, hyung,” Namjoon uttered when he had picked up the phone and discovered that the corner of the screen had broken. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I… I didn’t think of it before.”

Namjoon snorted. “Fuck, we’re really dumb.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

Namjoon nodded. “We can go to the triforium above the choir. Then we can see…”

“Speak Korean with me. What the fuck is friforium?”

“Triforium,” Namjoon corrected him. “Church balcony. Anyway, we can see from there what’s happening in the church. And it has only one small door – if anyone is trying to break in, I’ll just jam the keyhole or something.”

“Wait.” Now it was Seokjin, looking confused, frightened and angry all the same. “We’re not going anywhere unless you tell me what the fuck is going on. Why are you here? Who was the guy talking to you earlier? Who are _they_? And what’s going to happen in the church?”

Namjoon looked at Yoongi. Yoongi looked at his feet. It was going to be a long explanation. He did not like long explanations.

Someone tried the door leading to the corridor and Yoongi almost jumped with fear. Namjoon accidentally bumped into him, dropping his phone again. It fell with an awfully loud clatter and the light went off.

Namjoon swore quietly and picked up the phone again. It worked, but now there was a big crack on the screen.

“Put it away,” Yoongi hissed, “and let’s get the fuck out of here! Hyung, I’ll explain you when we’re on this trit-fucking-balcony.”

“Triforium,” Namjoon said.

“Whatever.”

They went to the sacristy, Yoongi now using his phone to light the way. Namjoon locked the door after them. There was a fire escape ladder installed to the wall and Namjoon climbed up, through a small trap-door in the ceiling. Seokjin and Yoongi went after him, the latter closing the door.

It was cold on the roof, colder than it had been on the ground, even if the sacristy roof was relatively low and two higher walls were protecting them from the wind. Yoongi clutched the ladder and looked down, at the church square. There were many little figures moving around and even if he could not see them very well, he had a looming suspicion that most of them were not from Bam Jangmi Pa. A rather large group was gathered together near the church’s side door, seemingly discussing something. Junsu’s red hair was nowhere to be seen and Yoongi hoped he had managed to hide. Yes, the vampire was a fantastic fighter, but so was Taehyung and Yoongi had seen what the garlic and silver sticks did to him.

Yoongi followed Namjoon and Seokjin up the ladder and through a small door. It led them to the balcony – sorry, _triforium_ – above the choir. Unless the larger ones above the aisles, the two small galleries near the altar were rarely used. There was thick dust on the floor and Yoongi had to breathe carefully, in order to not cough, when Namjoon slipped on the floor and kicked up a cloud of dust.

“Crap,” Namjoon swore. “Why are they here? Their reservation started at ten. Now it’s more than twenty minutes to nine.”

Yoongi shrugged and peeked over the balustrade. “Maybe the thirty-million-won donation made the Archbishop more lenient than usual.”

The church was rather empty, only a few black figures walking down the central aisle. The priest seemed to be gone. At first Yoongi did not see any of Jeongsu’s men, but when he looked more carefully, he caught a slight movement on the larger gallery across the room. He hoped there were the snipers of Bam Jangmi Pa.

“Guys,” Seokjin whispered harshly. “Tell me! Now!”

Yoongi sighed.

“Promise you’ll believe me? It might get weird.”

Seokjin frowned. “Of course I believe you. You _are_ weird, it would be more unbelievable if something normal happened to you.”

Yoongi snorted. Quietly, of course, even if the church was too big for the sound to carry far enough. “Also, I’m not crazy or hallucinating.”

“That’s debatable. Tell me.”

Yoongi sat down, scrunching his nose at the dust, and started from the very beginning, from the strange autumn night he had met Junsu for the first time. Seokjin’s expression went from intrigued to suspicious to utterly bewildered and he interrupted Yoongi many times to ask about the details, most of them completely unnecessary in Yoongi’s opinion.

“So,” Seokjin said, after a good fifteen minutes later, “you fucked a vampire and he got you a proper job and now that annoying kid who calls himself your boss is actually a gangster _and_ a vampire and he’s kidnapped by the fucking _vampire hunters_ who are going to kill him here during some strange-ass ritual. Yeah, sounds legit.”

“Hyung, I’m not shitting you.”

Seokjin peeked through the balustrade. “If it was only this one night, I’d think that you just drank yourself into a delirium or something and hallucinated the whole thing. But… fuck, I don’t know. Your new job is real and Taehyung is real and… and something’s obviously going to happen here.”

Yoongi nodded. “Yeah, I get it. It’s… It can be a lot to take in.”

Seokjin looked at Namjoon. “Joonie, what do you say?”

Namjoon shrugged. “It still seems more like a drunken dream, honestly. But… there is something… something unnatural with those three – Junsu and Taemin and Jaejoong. And they have fangs, hyung, I swear to God. And this gang shit is a hundred per cent real.”

Seokjin snorted. “And what will we do now? Sit here, enjoy the view and hope we won’t get killed?”

Yoongi nodded helplessly. “Something like that, yeah.”

Time seemed to slow down just to mock them, the minutes listlessly dragging on. From their position they saw more and more people coming to the church, all dressed in black. The newcomers did not bother to be quiet, but the church was so big that their chatter faded into a vague background noise. Almost all lights were turned out and replaced with torch-like lamps that were glowing red and spitting out thin wisps of smoke. A weak smell of incense reached even the triforium.

The flow of people seemed unending. Row by row they filled the nave seats. Yoongi was sure there were thousand of them or even more. He really hoped Jeongsu had some decent plan, because even with the help on the way, the men of Bam Jangmi Pa were seriously outnumbered.

“Damn,” Seokjin whispered. “It looks unreal. I feel like I’m going to wake up in my bed every moment and discover that all of this was a dream.”

“I want to wake up in my bed right now,” Yoongi mumbled.

The grim parade under them continued, until the nave seats were taken and some spectators had to sit to the aisles. They were like a sea of black, moving and waving… and waiting.

Finally – fucking finally – the tower clock struck ten times. And then it began.

The people rose up and started singing – quietly at first and then louder, until the vaults seemed to vibrate with their voices. The lyrics sounded like Latin, but Yoongi was not too sure. The melody was strange – not a major, neither a minor, but something restless and chant-like and ever-changing. The people carrying the lamps were swinging them from side to side and the shadows danced with the song, rising and fading in waves.

It went on and on, until Yoongi really felt like in a dream. The singers were swaying in the slow rhythm of the song, their black robes fluttering softly. The floor was covered by shadows and the grey brick columns were painted red by the lamps, rising towards the ceiling like pillars of smoke and blood.

They were woken from their daze by quiet knocks on the door.

“Shh!” Seokjin whispered, his voice unnaturally shaky. “Namjoon, did you lock the door?”

“Done, hyung,” Namjoon assured him. “And when they try to pick the lock, I’ll stick some matches into it.”

“Yoongi!” someone called from behind the door. “I know you’re there, I smell you and two other humans. It’s Jaejoong.”

Yoongi let out a relieved breath. “Thank fuck. Joon, open the door. It’s Jaejoong-hyung.”

“Shit, he scared me,” Namjoon whispered. With shaking hands he managed to get the key into the lock and turned. The door clicked open.

Jaejoong was soaking wet, but otherwise unharmed. His golden hair was a mess and there were speckles of blood on his clothes.

“Bad news,” the vampire told them, holding on to the ladder, but not coming farther inside. “Leeteuk’s men should be here by now, but they are delayed. Nobody knows why, they’re not answering the radio, nor the phone.”

Yoongi felt cold fear creeping towards his heart. “So… what is going to… what will we… what will happen to Taehyung?”

Jaejoong sighed. “We’re going to do our best. I will protect Taehyung with my life if necessary, but…” The vampire shook his wet hair and run a hand over his face. “Give me your finger.”

“What?”

“I can’t go inside,” Jaejoong explained, “it’s protected.”

“But I already…”

“Every door is protected,” Jaejoong told him. “You have to take the spells down one by one. Don’t worry, I won’t bite you for real. And I can control myself better now – I ate before.”

Yoongi held out his hand and Jaejoong scraped his finger with a long sharp canine. He was a lot calmer than before, Yoongi noticed. There were red sparkles flickering in his eyes.

Yoongi drew a small cross on the threshold. Jaejoong touched it and licked the blood from his hand. Then, quick as a flash, he was inside and closed the door behind him carefully.

“It’s really inconvenient,” he grumbled. “You have to take down every protection separately for everyone. And even then it will only last till the next sunrise.”

Seokjin stared at him quizzically. He had not properly seen Jaejoong biting Yoongi’s finger, because the door was narrow and Yoongi’s shoulders had blocked the view. “So you’re a vampire?”

“Yes,” Jaejoong confirmed, “I am. Unfortunately. And you are…?”

“Seokjin,” Yoongi said. “My friend.”

Jaejoong nodded without asking anything further. Then he crept near the balustrade and looked down, at the chanting crowd.

“They will go on like this almost for an hour,” he informed the others. “Then someone will give a long and utterly boring speech, but we might catch some useful information from it. Then they will chant some more… and then we’ll have to get Taehyung.”

Jaejoong sat on the floor and leaned his back against the balustrade. “I talked to Leeteuk and we decided that we’ll wait until Taehyung is brought to the altar. If we attack while he’s carried along the central aisle, then there are too many people around him and it’s easier for them to take him away again. There will only be three or four people with him by the altar. Leeteuk’s snipers will shoot them in the middle of the ceremony, and Junsu and Taemin will attack the first rows to prevent them from getting to Taehyung. Some Leeteuk’s men will charge at the same time from the doors behind the side chapels and the snipers will open fire on the people. Then someone will run to the altar, take Taehyung and as soon as they’ve left the choir, I will cover them. Sounds good, right?”

“In theory,” Yoongi agreed.

“I like your optimism,” Jaejoong grinned. “Don’t worry, something will go wrong for sure. There are more than thousand of them and only fifty-something of us – if the help doesn’t show up in time.” He frowned and glared at the crowd who was gathered in the church. “Frankly, it’s madness. But we have an element of surprise – maybe – and we’re not trying to win the fight or kill them all. We’ll just take Taehyung and go.”

“But we have three vampires?” Namjoon asked.

“Oh, so you have become a believer?” Jaejoong teased. “Yes, we have three vampires, but they have hundreds of hunters among them. I don’t smell any garlic, fortunately, but I can bet they have an unhealthy amount of silver with them.”

“Silver? Ah, yes, Yoongi-hyung told us.”

“The only weapon which can fatally take down a vampire,” Jaejoong explained. “It burns and cuts us and the wounds left by silver heal much longer than usual. And when the silver reaches the heart and pierces it, it kills us. Especially now, during the full moon.”

“Holy fuck,” Seokjin breathed. “Please, Yoongi-ah, tell me I’m dreaming.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

A flicker of a smile passed over Jaejoong’s face, almost compassionate, despite the fangs peeking out from between his lips. But then he glanced down again and frowned.

“What I want to know,” he said, “is why there are so many of them tonight. When they caught me a month ago, there were maybe a hundred people at most. It seems like they have been planning it for quite a long time. Which means they have known who Taehyung is for a long time.”

Yoongi gulped. “But why… I mean, wouldn’t it be easier to quietly kill him somewhere with fewer people present?”

“Maybe.” Jaejoong run a hand through his hair. “But it seems to me that they are almost like… waiting for an attack. Or even wanting Bam Jangmi Pa to attack them. Junsu told me that a few of them accidentally saw him – one of them had eaten garlic sandwiches and Junsu sneezed – and he had to kill them. They were not hunters, but ordinary thugs, armed with knives and pistols. I’ve got a feeling there’s a clan war going on, on top of this shit with the hunters.”

“And who…”

“Don’t know,” Jaejoong shrugged. “Not Dal Yong Pa, neither Geum Saja Pa.”

Yoongi nodded. So that was the reason why Junsu did not wait for him. “Where’s Junsu-hyung now? Is he okay?”

Jaejoong pointed to two ornate windows at the other end of the gallery which offered a nice view to the right side of the church, including the piano they had passed before. Yoongi remembered that the part of the church which crossed the nave was called transept – he had once jokingly asked Seokjin if it was _trans_ ept because the priests looked like _trans_ vestites in their long robes. Across the transept, in the opposite wall were two similar windows and the triforium continued right above the aisle.

“He’s there, somewhere. Asked me to make sure you’re okay, but you were not with Amber, so I guessed you’ve found yourself a nice place to watch the battle.”

“We _were_ going to Amber,” Yoongi started defending himself, but all of a sudden Jaejoong lifted a finger to his lips, his body going stiff and eyes darting around warily.

“I’ll be back soon,” the vampire whispered, opened the door and jumped out.

He was back after half an hour, in a sour mood and even more drenched than before. The crowd in the church was still singing. Yoongi asked what had happened and Jaejoong huffed angrily.

“I sensed someone,” he explained after he had shaken some water out of his hair. “Someone… not human. We, the vampires, can feel the presence of each other, but…”

“Taehyung?”

Jaejoong shook his head. “Taehyung is most likely kept in a silver cage and it prevents me of sensing him. It was something… I can’t even explain it properly… something _ancient_. And strange. Like a vampire, but… not.”

“Is it bad?”

Jaejoong shrugged. “I hope not. I have no idea. Maybe I’m just scaring you with no reason.”

Yoongi made a face. “Well, it’s still better to be at least vaguely aware of what’s going to kill you.”

“We’re going to be killed?” It was Seokjin.

“No,” Jaejoong answered, “just there’s a vampire outside. Or someone like a vampire, I didn’t see them. I don’t know if they’re hostile towards us or not.”

Yoongi stretched his legs out. If he observed himself, it seemed almost fascinating how his mind went calmer, the bigger the danger was; some kind of a devil-may-care attitude, a try to feel something – anything – genuine before the final plunge into the darkness. “Well, I’ve never wanted to live forever anyway.”

Namjoon let out a snort and Seokjin mumbled something along the lines of “here we go again”, but Jaejoong looked at Yoongi with growing interest. “You’re not afraid of death?”

“Not really,” Yoongi admitted. Maybe it was unhealthy, but he had stopped caring for a long time ago. “I don’t like dying – I’m afraid it may hurt or something –, but death itself… it doesn’t sound too bad. Eternal peace and silence, what’s there to be afraid of?”

“Yoongi-ah,” Seokjin sighed, “we’ve talked about this.”

Yoongi waved him off. He hated it when his friends were worried about him.

An undecipherable smile slowly stretched the corners of Jaejoong’s mouth. “My sacred ancestors, Junsu really has a type.”

Yoongi stared the vampire with a frown. “What do you mean?”

Jaejoong opened his mouth to say something, but then the song changed.

The chanting went slower and quieter, until the singers were just humming together. An old man rose from the front pew and walked slowly to the altar railing. There he stopped and turned to the others. Someone gave him a microphone and everybody went silent.

“My friends, my brothers and sisters, my fellow warriors,” the man started. “We have gathered here in the name of the Lord Almighty…”

“Oh no,” Yoongi moaned. “Please kill me now. I wanted to see the fight, not to listen a _sermon_.”

“Man, you literally came to the church,” Seokjin snickered. “What are you complaining about?”

“Fuck you.”

“Is this a way to talk to your hyung?”

“Fuck you, hyung.”

“Tone it down, will you?” Jaejoong hissed. “You’re being awfully loud!”

Yoongi shut up and resigned himself to death by boredom.

“God has made man after his own image,” the speaker droned on, “and he has made us to rule over the Earth. He has appointed us to be the judges of the world just as he himself will bring justice to the living and the dead at the final day of judgement. He is good for those who love him, but for his enemies he is an all-consuming fire. And just as he told the people of Israel to cleanse the Holy Land from the gentiles, he’s telling us today to purify our land and nation. He has sent us to…”

“That’s bullshit!” Namjoon whispered sharply. “God gave the Israelites a specific order for a specific period of time. It was meant only for the Israelites and only for this certain period. You can’t use it here and now as an excuse to kill anyone who don’t believe the same way you do.”

Jaejoong snorted next to them. “My mother used to say that good is the man who chooses one of the gods to serve. But even better is the one who forces all the other gods to become extinct.”

“The religious world is being corrupted through the false doctrine of heretics!” The speaker was now hyping himself up, his voice raising and hands gesturing wildly. “People are living immoral life, they have denied God and risen their hands against his creation! Right now we must be the firmest and the most righteous stronghold of faith in this country… and our care must not grow feeble.”

“Bla-bla-bla,” Yoongi muttered.

“Vampires are the spawn of evil,” the man went on, “and everybody who lets themselves to be turned into one will be damned through eternity! They are not registered in the list of creatures created by God. Consequently – they are from Satan!”

“The fuck?” Yoongi whispered. “They have a list for that?”

Jaejoong nodded. “The Sacred Encyclopedia of Species or something like that. They’re crazy fanatics if you haven’t figured it out yet.”

The speech went on much in the same fashion. Jaejoong listened avidly, hoping for some clues about the hunters’ collaborators and Taehyung’s possible betrayers, but Yoongi tuned it out pretty quickly. He was almost glad when, after a good thirty minutes, the people stood up again and started another song. At least the speaker had shut up.

Unlike the other one before, this song was quicker and more aggressive, resembling battle chants. The singers were stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Had it been a different situation, Yoongi would have thought the song rather interesting, but right now he just wanted something to finally happen.

It was maybe fifteen minutes to midnight when the four of them saw a movement at the back of the church. The people were still singing, but turned over to watch as six hooded figures came in, carrying a long box which was covered with a black cloth. Slowly they moved through the church, down the central aisle, and placed the box on the floor, before the stairs leading to the choir.

Two men and two women now came forward. They walked around the box, singing all the time and making strange gestures with their hands. Then they opened the doors of the altar railing and the six hooded men carried the box to the choir. There the men placed it to the table before altar, removed the cloth and disappeared into the crowd.

Taehyung was there.

It was not a box, but a small cage, and Taehyung was lying there, his hands and feet chained. He seemed unconscious. There were horrible burns on his face and a half-healed cut from the centre of his forehead to his left cheek. His own clothes had been taken off and he was wearing a white robe which covered him from neck to calves. His bare feet sticking out from under the robe were even more badly burned than his face.

Yoongi was gripping the balustrade so strongly that his knuckles went white. What had happened to Taehyung? What had they done to him? Was he dead? No, he had to be alive, the hunters wanted to kill him tonight and he had to be alive for this, right? Right?

Someone touched his shoulder and Yoongi flinched so violently that he accidentally hit his knee against the balustrade. Fortunately the singing masked the noise.

“Breathe slower,” Jaejoong whispered, a hand still on Yoongi’s shoulder. “It’s too quick even for a human.”

Yoongi tore his eyes from the scene below him and looked at Jaejoong. The air around the vampire was twirling and Jaejoong was practically vibrating with the effort to control his aggravated presence. His fangs were extended again, poking out from between his lips and slowly dripping venom on his chin. His expression was blank, no wrinkle or frown on his pale skin, but his features were tense, as if Jaejoong was wearing a mask which could crackle at every moment. And his eyes were deep red and terrifying, glowing with suppressed fury. Yoongi had to turn his face away.

“It gets worse at first,” Jaejoong whispered. “The snipers will wait until Taehyung is on the altar. But he won’t be killed before his ribcage is cut open and his heart is stabbed with a silver knife. Until then he will be alive.”

Yoongi nodded numbly. So Taehyung was not dead. At least.

The two men and two women opened the cage, lifted Taehyung out of it and placed him on the altar. The altar cover should have been violet, because it was Advent season, but the liturgical colour was removed and replaced with a long black guilt. Taehyung’s white-clad body looked so delicate and frail against it. Yoongi noticed that he did not only have cuffs around his wrists and ankles, but also a larger one around his neck. And his body below his chest was tightly wrapped with a silver chain.

The cage was carried away and for a moment Taehyung was alone, lying silently on the altar. But then a man came forth, flanked by two women. Each one of them had a big silver cross hanging around their neck and silver bracelets on their wrists. They were wearing crowns made of silver and decorated with black gems, and their faces were hidden behind silver masks. The women were carrying knives with them, blades as wide as meat cleaver. The man’s knife was narrow, but long and with a pointed tip, resembling a dagger.

One of the women touched Taehyung with a knife and cut open his robe from neck to sternum. Taehyung twitched, but did not wake up.

“Hear ye, warriors of God!” The speaker from before was back, shouting over the song. “Behold the punishment of evil! Give glory to the divine judgement!”

The women pressed their knives onto Taehyung’s chest. The vampire shuddered from head to toe, opened his eyes and screamed, his shrill voice piercing through the chanting of the crowd.

Three shots echoed and the hunters next to the altar fell down. The song ended abruptly… and a chaos broke out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter seems a bit like a filler, but there were some things that just had to happen before the actual battle. And I may have got carried away with describing the banter between NamGiJin. :) But there will finally be a decent fight in the next chapter, I promise.  
> About Taehyung being able to be on the altar despite of the protection over the choir and sanctuary – he was unconscious and he was carried there. The vampire can’t breach the protection voluntarily, but they can be carried through against their will.  
> Also, if an English guide is ever needed in the Myeongdong Cathedral, I’m pretty sure I’m almost qualified for the job. XD Over the past few months I’ve come to know more about its history and architecture than I know about the building of my own church. Google Maps and Wikipedia are godsend. XD The only thing I had to invent by myself was the passage to the galleries above the choir. I thought at first that this part of the triforium was only meant for decoration, but then I noticed two little doors on the backside of the cathedral, right above the sacristy roof, and fire ladders under them, and well, if you already have a fire ladder, then there must be a way to get in.


	8. Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter contains an explicit gore (cutting open a living person’s chest).

The doors behind the side chapels opened and a group of gunmen burst through, running from behind one pillar to another and aiming at the first rows. Most people attempted to escape, surprised by the sudden attack, but soon many of them gathered themselves and those who had guns fired back. A few even tried to get past them, to the still screaming Taehyung.

Someone moved on the gallery and Yoongi saw two vampires jumping down from the opposite sides of triforium. The picture was surreal, straight out of a fantasy action movie. For a moment, at the highest point of their trajectory, Junsu and Taemin seemed to be frozen in the air, between the floor and the ceiling, almost twenty meters above the panicked spectators. And then the gravity did its job, they landed into the crowd like a flash and before the people knew what was happening, a dozen of them were already lying motionlessly on the floor, with broken necks or sliced throats.

But many of the enemies were seasoned hunters and this was not their first encounter with vampires. Soon Junsu and Taemin were surrounded by silver sticks and knives. They were unbelievably quick, dashing through the fighters and bringing death on their way, but silver still had an effect to them, burning their skin and slowing them down.

“It’s getting out of hand,” Jaejoong remarked. “Look at the choir. Some of these bastards are going to break through the defence.”

A few opponents had emptied their guns and started a hand-to-hand combat. Not Leeteuk’s snipers, neither the enemy could shoot them, because the risk to accidentally kill someone of their own was too high. But what made Yoongi worry the most was the fact that some of the fighters were on the choir, awfully close to Taehyung. The three knives were still lying next to the altar, only waiting for someone to pick them up.

“I have a plan,” Jaejoong announced. “But I need your help.”

“What plan?” Seokjin asked suspiciously.

The vampire threw a glance at Yoongi. “Junsu won’t like it.”

Yoongi shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s not tell him. What should I do?”

“You know how to take down the protection of the choir and the sanctuary?”

Yoongi nodded. “I have to mix my blood with Junsu’s and drip it onto the altar.”

“Or you can mix it with mine. Give me your finger.”

Yoongi extended his had and Jaejoong scraped it with one of his long canines, careful of the venom constantly dripping from them. Then he bit his own finger, squeezed out a drop of black blood and smeared it next to the small bleeding scratch he had made to Yoongi.

“Hold your finger in your palm,” he instructed. “Just like that. And now let’s go.”

Yoongi looked at him, confused. “How?”

Jaejoong put a hand around Yoongi’s waist and lifted the perplexed human up, as if he did not weigh anything. “Hold on tight.”

“Wait, wait,” Seokjin interrupted them, a hint of panic in his voice. “No, Jaejoong-ssi, you won’t do this. You are absolutely not going to jump down with Yoongi.”

Yoongi glanced the floor many meters below, realising what exactly was Jaejoong intending to do. He knew, logically thinking, that the jump could not have been more than fifteen meters or so, but up here the distance seemed much longer. He felt fear coiling in his stomach… and with it came an intoxicating rush of adrenaline.

“Are you sure it won’t kill us?” Yoongi asked.

“Absolutely,” Jaejoong assured him. “It’s only a few meters.”

“A few meters!” Seokjin huffed.

“Okay.” Yoongi put his hands around the vampire’s neck, trying to not smear blood on his skin or clothes. “Let’s do this.”

“Yoongi,” Seokjin started, “you can’t…”

“Yes, hyung, I can. Jaejoong-hyung, let’s go.”

Jaejoong grinned. “That’s the spirit!”

With one elegant leap the vampire was on the balustrade, standing as a marble statue above the abyss. Yoongi watched intently the floor below them. The hunters with their long robes resembled black butterflies, frantically swishing around.

“You might want to close your eyes,” Jaejoong told him. “It’s a bit less frightening when you don’t look.”

“Hell no.” Yoongi clutched Jaejoong’s neck more tightly and let his gaze wander over the vaults and pillars, relishing in the burst of fear. “When else will I have the chance to do something like this? You can bet I’m going to enjoy it.”

Jaejoong threw him a curious glance.

“You’re wonderfully weird,” he stated. “I like it.”

And with this, he jumped.

It could not have taken more than a second, but for Yoongi it felt as if time had stopped. The ceiling rushed away, the pillars speeded past them and the floor came closer as if in a 3D computer game. The final collision knocked his breath out for a moment, even if Jaejoong cradled him in his arms, trying to soften the fall as much as possible.

“You okay?” the vampire asked after putting Yoongi down. The man nodded, standing unsteadily on wobbling legs. His heart was beating like crazy and he felt droplets of sweat running down his back. During their jump the protection over the altar and choir had caused Jaejoong to slip in the air and, instead of landing next to the altar, they had fallen on the stairs leading to the choir. Some fighters were watching them with a frightened surprise.

“Good.” The vampire grinned at him, his long canines glinting red in the dim light. “Go now.”

Yoongi threw a quick glance to the battle behind him. Junsu and Taemin were fighting side by side, completely surrounded by hunters. Someone shot Junsu and Yoongi saw him falter, but he recovered soon and attacked his opponents with a renewed vigour.

“Tell me, you damned bloodsucker,” a gruff voice suddenly said next to them, “how many times do I have to kill the same man?”

Both Yoongi and Jaejoong turned around. There were five men, all carrying silver knives. One of them had a little silver pistol. A recognition dawned on Jaejoong’s face and a mocking grin twisted the elegant curve of his lips. “Ah, we have met before.”

“Indeed,” one of the hunters scoffed, “and I could have sworn I killed you then. Are you a ghost or a man?”

Jaejoong’s laugh rang brightly over the noise of the fight. “Greetings from the otherworld! They’re waiting for you.”

And with this he attacked.

Yoongi did not wait for him. He jumped over the low railing and ran to the altar. His left hand was still clenched in a fist, a drop of his and Jaejoong’s mixed blood in his palm.

Someone blocked his way. Yoongi tried to dash past the man – no, it was a woman, he noticed –, but the other was too quick. Besides, she was carrying a knife. Up-close Yoongi saw strange markings on her face, black lines curling on her cheeks and around her eyes.

Yoongi thought quickly. He took a few steps back and ran to the side, attempting to reach the altar from behind. But the woman was after him and blocked his way. What was more, a man came, with similar drawings on his face, and took one of the big knives from the floor, decisively walking to Taehyung. The vampire had been silent for a while, but now he started thrashing and screaming again.

Fortunately three Leeteuk’s men came and the woman had to defend herself against them. Yoongi tackled the man by his legs and dragged him away from Taehyung before his opponent had time to react. Someone from Bam Jangmi Pa drove a knife through the hunter’s neck and Yoongi was free to go to the altar.

Taehyung was looking him with big frightened eyes, while Yoongi lifted up the black guilt covering the altar and opened his palm. He cursed loudly when he saw that the blood had almost dried and some of it had spilled down when he had been fighting with the hunter. Yoongi wiped it on the white stone, desperately rubbing his hand against the altar, but he was not sure if it was enough.

Jaejoong called him and Yoongi looked back. The vampire was standing next to the altar railing, repeatedly pushing against it, but it was clear he could not get inside. Yoongi wanted to go to him, but then a bunch of hunters ran towards him and he could not leave Taehyung with them. He had to do something and he had to do it quickly.

Two knives were still on the floor next to the altar and Yoongi grabbed both of them. Yes, he was not a professional fighter as most of the hunters, but he was definitely not a bad one either – and he had gained some useful skills from his many drunken encounters. Yoongi took the knives firmly in both hands and attacked the nearest hunter. At the last moment he turned to the side and stabbed another one who had clearly not expected it. The man grunted and fell down.

“Nice one, man!” someone shouted and, at the next moment, two hunters before him tumbled on the floor. Behind them stood Hoseok, grinning from ear to ear. He was covered with blood up to his elbows and was twirling two long knives in his hands. He had a bloody scratch on his cheek, but he did not seem to be bothered by that.

“What are you doing here?” Hoseok asked conversationally as he stabbed a hunter to the stomach. There were two more and soon Yoongi found himself in a combat with one. His opponent reminded him the men in the bookstore who had kidnapped Taehyung and Yoongi put all his anger into his movements. The man tried to stab him in the shoulder, but Yoongi ducked down just in time and hit the other in the leg. The man fell and Hoseok finished him quickly.

“I wanted to take down the protection of the altar,” Yoongi explained. “I had to mix Jaejoong’s blood with mine and drip it on the altar. But I got into a fight and some of the blood spilled and… yeah.”

Hoseok nodded and looked at the battle in front of them. Junsu and Taemin had broken through the ranks of the hunters. Taemin was standing next to Jaejoong, but Junsu had ran to the south side chapel and was defending the passage to the choir. “We have to get away from here. Soon they’ll realise what’s happening and will shoot us.”

“But Taehyung?”

“Take him down and let’s hide behind the altar for starters. I’ll cover you.”

Yoongi dropped the knives and carefully put his hands around Taehyung. The vampire whimpered pitifully and shut his eyes.

“Hurts,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi whispered, slowly gathering Taehyung into his arms. The man was shaking and crying out when the cuffs pressed against his skin. Yoongi saw dark burns around the silver.

“I can’t take them off right now,” he apologised, “I don’t have the key. But we’ll get you out of here and then we’ll figure something out.”

Taehyung sniffled, tears pressing out from the corners of his eyes. Yoongi lifted him down and staggered behind the altar, shaking with nerves. Hoseok was fighting with two women now, shouting with joy when one of his enemies stumbled back with a slit throat and fell onto the other. Yoongi looked around frantically. There was no-one in the north side chapel and the door was still open. If he could go to it without being shot and hide Taehyung in the corridor…

He had to try.

Slowly, pressing himself against the wall, Yoongi inched out from behind the altar. Still clutching Taehyung in his arms, he bowed down and run past the cleric seats which were positioned behind and on both sides of the altar. Once down from the choir, Yoongi hid behind the nearest pillar. No-one seemed to notice them yet, so he hurried through the side chapel and out of the door. His heart was beating wildly and he was shivering from head to toe. The fight had not been so bad, but now, when he had to hide and run, his nerves started getting the better of him.

A voice in the dark stopped him. “Who’s there?”

Yoongi’s mind went blank with fear and he screamed from the top of his lungs.

“Hyung?” The voice sounded panicked now. “It’s me, Namjoon. It’s okay, calm down.”

Yoongi’s knees buckled under him. He slumped against the wall, still holding Taehyung, feeling like passing out every minute. “Shi- shit, Joon, you – you scared me.”

Namjoon switched on his phone, accidentally shining the light into Yoongi’s eyes. “Hyung, you got Taehyung-ssi?”

Yoongi nodded. “Put your… put your fucking phone away and – and let’s go to somewhere quieter.”

“We can go to the sacristy,” Namjoon told him. “Seokjin-hyung is waiting there for us. I’ll lock the door.”

The sacristy was dark, none of them daring to turn on the lights. Taehyung had gone limp in Yoongi’s arms, probably lost consciousness again.

“So,” Seokjin spoke out, “what will we do now?”

“No idea.” Yoongi sat down on the floor carefully. “We can’t go out, because there are probably hundreds of hunters and gangsters waiting for us. And we can’t stay here for too long, because…”

“We can go to the basement,” Namjoon said, jingling his key. “I doubt they’ll…”

Something hard and heavy hit Yoongi on the head. The world started spinning and then the darkness swallowed everything.

“Hyung? Hyung? Can you hear me?”

“Yoongi-ah, if you don’t answer me this instant, I’ll… fuck those fucking bastards, I’ll smash their fucking faces if I ever see them again…”

Yoongi groaned and tried to sit up. “Joon? Hyung?”

“Oh, thank God, you’re alive.”

“Where… what…” When the fog behind his eyes had cleared, his memories came back and Yoongi jumped up with a frightened gasp, not caring about the pain that shot through his head due to the sudden movement. “Where’s Taehyung?”

“They…” Seokjin took a deep and shuddering breath. “Someone was there. They knocked you out… and took Taehyung.”

The room started spinning again and Yoongi had to grab the wall for support. “They took Taehyung? I… I have to get him.”

“Yoongi…” Seokjin started.

But Yoongi was already out of the door, slightly swaying on his feet. Namjoon and Seokjin hurried after him as he ran through the corridor and into the chapel he had just came through.

Yoongi looked around in the church. Junsu was at the central aisle, in the middle of the biggest fight, his red hair sometimes flashing through the sea of black and silver. Jaejoong and Taemin were nowhere to be seen. And Taehyung…

Taehyung was on the main altar, screaming and kicking frantically. He was still tied with the silver chains, but now four men were also holding him down. A woman had the silver cleaver-like knife in her hand and with this she was cutting open Taehyung’s chest. Black blood was flowing from the wound and soaking the white robe Taehyung was wearing.

Without thinking, Yoongi ran towards the altar. There was a dead woman lying on the choir – probably from Bam Jangmi Pa, because she was not wearing the long robe of the hunters –, her fingers still clutching a gun. Yoongi pried the weapon from her hand. He had never shot a gun, but he did know how to knock someone out with a hard object. So he held the gun in his hand like a baseball bat, ran to the altar and hit the nearest man on the head as hard as he could.

The man fell to the floor and the others turned to him. Yoongi saw that behind the woman who was cutting Taehyung open stood the same man who had gave a speech before. He was holding a long narrow knife, probably meant for stabbing Taehyung in the heart.

This was the end, Yoongi thought, but he could not run anywhere. Not with Taehyung being slaughtered here like a sacrificial lamb at some twisted ritual. So he clutched the gun in his hand and waited for the final attack. Maybe he could at least take down the annoying speaker who had bored him with his stupid speech before.

The woman attacked him with a knife and Yoongi ducked down to avoid being stabbed. One of the men kicked him to the stomach, but somehow he managed to roll himself away. Someone was screaming beside him, two gunshots were heard, then a knife grazed his right arm, ripping through the fabric and leaving a nasty scratch on his skin. There was a foot right in front of him and Yoongi crawled away from it. Maybe, if he could get behind the altar, they would leave him alone for a moment…

“Yoongi-hyung? Are you okay?”

Yoongi lifted his head just in time to see the man who had given a speech before collapsing on the floor. There was Hoseok with his knives, a maniacal grin still on his face. And Seokjin and Namjoon… and Jimin? And Jungkook right next to him.

“Taehyung!” Jimin screamed and ran to the vampire. “Oh no, no, no…”

Slowly Yoongi rose to his feet and looked at the mauled body on the altar. The skin on Taehyung’s chest was cut open and peeled away. White ribs and a breastbone were showing through the mess of black blood and shredded flesh. Yoongi staggered closer, as if in a daze, and stared the gruesome sight before him. Two left ribs were cut through from the joints and bent to the side. In the hole between them Yoongi saw a reddish black bundle of flesh, about the size of his fist.

And Taehyung, by some wonder, was still conscious, though paler than Yoongi had ever seen him. He was looking at Jimin and moving his lips, but no sound came out.

“Shit,” Hoseok swore. “Tae, can you hear me?”

Taehyung’s eyes darted to him.

“What do we have to do? Will it just… heal by itself, or…”

Taehyung’s eyes moved up and down, as if nodding. Then his face twisted in pain and he let out a strangled noise.

“Jimin, Jungkook, stay with him.” Hoseok put one of his knives away and took a gun. “Yoongi, Namjoon and whatever-your-name-is, take some weapons from the corpses and get ready. Our men can’t held those bastards back for long.”

With an effort Yoongi tore his eyes away from the vampire. The man who had tried to kill Taehyung earlier was lying at his feet. Yoongi took his knife and looked at the church. Junsu was doing an amazing job, but there were clearly too many enemies even for him. A few of Leeteuk’s men were defending the choir. Yoongi saw Jackson among the fighters, wielding a long knife, and Junior hidden behind a nearby pillar, a gun in his hand, taking down the hunters one by one. But many members of Bam Jangmi Pa were killed, their lifeless bodies scattered on the choir or between the pews, side by side with their fallen enemies.

“We have to try again,” Hoseok hissed. “Let’s take Taehyung and try to get him to the basement. I’ll call a helicopter for us.”

And then the air shifted.

Yoongi saw someone entering the church through the north side door. It was a man – a man with pink-brown hair, wearing simple jeans and a white T-shirt. He walked through the battle as if he was on a lazy afternoon stroll, but instead of attacking him, the fighters fled from him. And when he came closer, Yoongi understood why.

Junsu could be intimidating if he wanted to, but he was nothing compared to this man. A nameless horror fell over Yoongi, cold and heavy… and old, as old as the history of the Earth itself. The man looked human, but he was not; and he looked like a vampire, but he was not. Or maybe he was the very essence of all the vampires, everything which separated them from humans. He was beautiful and terrifying as a lightning storm at night or an abyss below the highest floor of a skyscraper. Namjoon, when he was in his ‘philosophy mode’ again, as Yoongi called it, had once talked about the _mysterium tremendum et fascinans_ – an otherworldly experience both dreadful and fascinating – and Yoongi thought that this was it. He wanted to run away, to hide, to crawl under his bed and curl into a ball, but at the same time he was too enticed to even move.

This was the feeling he was looking for. This was the thing he sought for in every bar fight, in random walks through the abandoned alleys, in Junsu’s crimson eyes and fangs digging into his skin, the closer to the jugular vein the better.

And at the same time this sensation was too much for Yoongi, too strong to feel even for a few minutes. He did not dare to look at the man’s face, because he was afraid he might go mad.

The stranger came through the open door of the altar railing and stood before them. Yoongi did not want to see, but something stronger than his will made him lift his eyes and gaze at the face of the man, pale as a vampire, but _alive_ , more alive than anything Yoongi had ever seen.

Then the man smiled. Cutely, almost shyly. And the fear was overrode by all-consuming affection.

He did not say anything, but somehow Yoongi sensed that he wanted them to follow him. The others seemed to understand it as well. Jimin and Jungkook took now unconscious Taehyung in their arms and they left the church in silence. Outside there was a chaos, knives flashing and gunshots echoing on the cathedral square, Jaejoong’s golden hair showing up here and there, but no-one came to bother them. They went over the square, down the stairs and behind the street corner where Amber’s car was standing.

Jimin and Jungkook carried Taehyung inside, Namjoon and Seokjin going after them. Yoongi heard Amber gasping in shock and then calling Jackson through the radio, but everything seemed so far away. The man started walking back to the church and Yoongi went with him, Hoseok a good five meters behind them.

They entered from the main door and walked through the battlefield, through the midst of the living and dead. Those of Leeteuk’s men who were still alive were mostly surrounded by enemies. They were not attacking any more, only defending their positions, while the snipers on the triforium were trying to take down as many people from the opposite side as possible. And at the other end of the cathedral, on the high altar, Yoongi saw a vision straight out of a nightmare.

Junsu was strong and fast, but even he could not hold his ground against hundreds of hunters for so long. They had caught him with a net made of silver, they had cuffed his hands, tied his feet and dragged him to the altar. There, a couple of hunters were holding him down, while one tore his shirt open and cut through the skin and flesh on his chest with a silver knife.

Yoongi did not think, he just ran. He saw Junsu struggling in a desperate attempt to get away and then biting one hunter. The woman jumped back, clutching her bloody hand, and Junsu, using the hunters’ momentary confusion, rolled himself down from the altar. Mind blank of anything, save the need to protect Junsu, Yoongi pushed through the people and covered the vampire’s body with his own.

He lifted his head when he heard the screams. The stranger had come with him and was dashing through the hunters gracefully, sometimes bowing down and biting their necks. The men and women were running around, shouting and screaming, but somehow they could not leave the choir. They were like a flock of panicked sheep, as the pink-haired stranger killed them one by one.

Junsu made a pained noise under him and Yoongi turned his attention to the vampire. He was lying on the floor, face down, the skin on his hands and neck already burned by the silver. Carefully Yoongi turned him over and, trying not to look at Junsu’s chest for too long, unwrapped the silver chains from around his feet, body and neck. Unfortunately he could not do anything with Junsu’s wrists, because he did not have the key of the handcuffs.

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu whispered, his words slow and a pained grimace marring his beautiful face. “If you… hold the skin together… it will… it will heal quicker… and I will lose less blood.”

Yoongi took a deep breath, his eyes falling to the gaping wound in Junsu’s chest. It was bleeding profusely, the black viscous substance soaking through Junsu’s once-white shirt, but fortunately Yoongi did not see the bone. He pressed his hands to the wound and watched as the skin began to knit itself together. Normally such injuries would have made him panic, recoil and, in many cases, throw up, but he had seen so many horrible things tonight that his brain had just seemed to give up. And everything else paled anyway, compared to the terrified awe he had felt before the strange man who was now fighting with the hunters.

Suddenly Junsu moved and before Yoongi could react, he was lying on the floor, under the vampire. Several gunshots were heard and Junsu twitched on top of him, eyes squeezing shut with the pain.

“Ouch,” Junsu complained. Yoongi could not see his face, because Junsu’s shoulder was halfway covering his eyes, but he reached his hands for the other’s chest and continued pressing the wound together.

“Thanks,” Junsu breathed. “Don’t move, they’re shooting us.”

“But you…”

Junsu twitched again. “I’ll manage,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “You can just take the bullets out afterwards. But… ow! But you’ll die if – aah, that hurt – if you get shot. And the handcuffs are more painful anyway.”

“I can’t take them off,” Yoongi apologised. “I don’t have the key.”

He felt Junsu nodding with a sigh and then heard him grinding his teeth together. A volley of shots was fired and, by Junsu’s erratic shaking, Yoongi guessed that many of them had hit the vampire.

“Can I take you behind the altar?”

“Don’t move,” Junsu repeated. “They’re still shooting and I’m not strong enough to fight yet. I don’t want you to die.”

Yoongi peeked over Junsu’s shoulder. He could not see much, only glimpses of black robes. There was screaming, gunshots and sounds of running feet. A hunter was rushing to Yoongi and Junsu, but fell next to them, blood bursting from his open mouth. More shots were fired. For a moment, Hoseok was crouching down beside them, but then he had to roll away and hide behind a pillar to avoid getting shot. Junsu shifted on top of him and groaned in pain when another bullet hit him. Yoongi stroke his palms over Junsu’s chest to soothe him and felt that the wound had mostly closed itself together, the skin already starting to scar. His fingers were sticky with the vampire’s thick blood.

And then it was calm again. Yoongi felt someone lifting Junsu off him and saw the pink-haired stranger. He was holding a silver key, his hand shaking and brow furrowed. Yoongi held his hand out and when the man gave him the key, Yoongi saw that silver had burned the tips of his fingers.

So he was a vampire?

The man looked at him and even if he did not say anything, Yoongi understood. Quickly he took Junsu’s hands and unlocked the cuffs. Silver had left ugly burns on Junsu’s delicate wrists, but Yoongi did not have time to inspect the injuries. The fight was still going on and they needed to hurry before someone decided to shoot them again.

Yoongi helped Junsu to his feet and half-dragged him down the choir, through the south side chapel and to the right side of the transept. There he hid under the piano, Junsu stumbling after him and collapsing on the floor.

The man was gazing at them intently and finally Yoongi found enough courage – or madness – in himself to look the stranger in the eye.

It was unlike anything he had experienced before. He did not know what to call it but _different_ – different from everything around him. The man had a human-like face – eyes, nose and mouth –, but at the same time Yoongi felt as if seeing something that was not a part of this world. The fear for someone so completely _other_ was still there, but the overwhelming admiration was stronger. Yoongi thought about the first time he had met Junsu, about their conversation back then. Junsu had talked something about the great Transcendence, the spark of divine cognition, a _lumen gloriae_. Maybe this was it? Maybe he had to come through the _mysterium tremendum et fascinans_ to find the centre of…

The man shook his head and Yoongi saw something strangely familiar in his gaze. It took him a while to understand it.

Sadness.

But the other did not let him dwell longer on the feeling. Softly his elegant fingers touched Yoongi’s chin and he smiled at the human.

“I do not have what you’re looking for,” he said, although his lips were not moving and Yoongi did not hear his voice. “Don’t try to find yourself in me. Take care of your beloved.” Then he cast a long look on Junsu and turned away from them, going back into the battle.

Junsu’s eyes followed him, unblinking, until he disappeared between the pews.

There was a little thought in the corner of Yoongi’s mind, a voice which told him that they should find a place farther from the ongoing fight, but Yoongi felt too safe to care. The sleek black grand piano was shielding them from everything bad and all was going to be right again.

And he had to take care of his beloved.

Yoongi turned Junsu to his stomach and removed the vampire’s coat, followed by the tattered shirt. There were at least two dozen bullets in Junsu’s back, but fortunately his body had already begun to reject them. Yoongi only had to quicken the process by picking them out one by one. Each bullet left a bloody hole which smoothed out slowly, like wet sand when pricked with a finger. Three bullets had went through Junsu’s pants, two of them stuck in his calves and the third one in his left buttock. Yoongi pushed his fingers through the holes in the black leather, took the bullets out carefully and used the clean part of Junsu’s shirt to wipe off the blood.

“You can throw the shirt away,” Junsu mumbled tiredly. “It’s ruined anyway.”

Yoongi nodded and turned the vampire to his back again. Junsu’s chest still looked horrible, but it was much better than before. The wound had closed completely and only a thick black scar marked the place where the silver knife had cut Junsu. Even the burns on his wrists were healing slowly.

Junsu lifted his hand and run his cold fingers over Yoongi’s cheek. The man leaned into the caress. Junsu’s eyes were unfocused and hazy, but he was smiling at Yoongi, soft and open. There was a strange vulnerability in his night black gaze.

“Where’s Taehyung?” Junsu finally asked, his words slow and voice distant.

“In Amber’s car.” Yoongi took Junsu’s hand and pressed it more firmly against his cheek. “With Jimin and Jungkook and Namjoon and Seokin.”

“Who’s Seokjin? The name sounds familiar.”

“My friend. I have told you about him; the one who loves terrible puns. He was in the church – he was one of the altar servers – and the hunters came too quickly for him to get out.”

Junsu hummed. “Are they giving Taehyung enough blood? I did not see him very well, but his injuries seemed pretty bad.”

“I hope so. I only went with him to Amber’s car and then came back here.” Yoongi looked closely at Junsu’s face, at his glassy eyes, chapped lips and cheeks which were unnaturally pale even for a vampire. “Do _you_ need more blood, hyung? You don’t look too good either. Do you want to bite me?”

Junsu shook his head slowly. “I need much more than is safe for you. Give me a few minutes and I’ll fetch myself some of those corpses.”

Yoongi peeked out from under the piano. It was rather quiet around their little hiding place, the fight mostly going on at the nave and aisles. “I can bring you some.”

“No, wait.” Now Junsu was looking at him with a slight concern. “I don’t want you to get shot.”

“I won’t, hyung.”

He was sure of it. He did not know how, but he was absolutely sure that he and Junsu were safe. At least as long as _he_ was here, the stranger whose otherworldly presence still lingered over them.

Maybe Junsu felt it too, because he did nothing to stop Yoongi. He only sighed and sent the man another of those achingly soft smiles.

There were dead bodies lying everywhere, but Yoongi was too tired to be disgusted. He crept out carefully, took a hold of the one closest to them and dragged it under the piano. It was a young man dressed in a long black robe. His face was covered with blood, but some drawings were still visible on his cheeks.

Junsu made a noise of utter happiness and lurched forward, uncaring of the scar marring his chest. He bit into the neck of the dead man and tore the skin and flesh away, revealing the carotid artery right under the ear. Then, with a content hum, he dug his teeth into the blood vessel and started sucking, his throat bobbing rhythmically and body vibrating with fresh energy.

Yoongi watched him, a strange sense of pride growing in his chest. There was _his_ vampire. His Junsu. His _beloved_.

Without thinking, Yoongi put a hand on the nape of Junsu’s neck and kneaded softly the silken skin. An ugly burned welt, left by the silver chain, was still there and Yoongi was careful to avoid it. Junsu made a small noise, but did not acknowledge Yoongi further, the meal in front of him seemingly more interesting. Yoongi did not care, only continued petting the vampire. Junsu was going to be well again and Taehyung was going to be well again and he was just… happy. Happier than he had been for a long time.

Finally, when the dead man’s face had grown sickly pale, resembling more a wax figure than a human being, Junsu lifted his head and licked his fangs. He dropped to the floor, right next to the corpse, and closed his eyes, a small smile on his blood-red lips.

Yoongi could not help but smile back. “Do you want more?”

“If you offer so kindly,” Junsu purred, stretching on the floor as a lazy cat.

Yoongi laughed at his antics and crawled to the next closest corpse. It was a middle-aged woman this time – one of the hunters again. Junsu did not waste a second to tear her neck open and latch himself on the artery. He drank now more slowly than before, eyes squinted with delight. Yoongi noticed that the burns on his neck and arms were fading a little quicker. Maybe the fresh blood helped.

When Junsu drew away from the corpse, a stream of blood was still running from the open artery. Junsu eyed it with regret, then sucked his fingers clean and turned to Yoongi. His dark irises were twinkling with red.

“I’m sorry to waste it like this,” he murmured, glancing at the bleeding corpse, “but I’m too full.”

Yoongi smiled at him again. He thought briefly that he probably looked like an idiot, a permanent grin etched onto his face, but he could not stop. His head felt light, his insides were buzzing with a strange happiness and the world around him looked like a dream, all fuzzy and soft. The sounds of fighting were only a distant background noise, growing more and more quiet.

Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe all this death and horror had been too much for his poor brain and now the rational part of it had simply decided to shut itself down for the better. But if this was madness, then it felt damn good.

Junsu put his coat on, took Yoongi’s hand and looked out from under the piano. Then he let out a sudden laugh and crawled out, pulling the younger with him.

“Look,” he ordered, wrapping his arms tightly around Yoongi from behind.

Yoongi looked. The fading battle noise had not been a trick of his mind, he understood. The fight was really over. All hunters who had stayed inside the church were now fallen, the black-clad corpses scattered all over the floor like a bunch of leaves thrown around by the autumn wind. Leeteuk’s gunmen had left the triforium and were raking through the battlefield with other survivors, killing the hunters who were still alive and carrying the bodies of dead Bam Jangmi Pa members into a separate corner. Farther between the pews Yoongi saw Hoseok talking into his radio.

“We won,” Junsu said, his voice soft and oddly distant. “ _He_ won.”

The wave of relief hit so strongly that Yoongi’s knees buckled and he would have fallen on the floor, if not for Junsu holding him.

* * *

Jaejoong was panicking. It was not good. It was absolutely not good.

He rarely panicked – come on, he had been captured by the hunters more than once and had managed to escape every time. Even tonight, when it had dawned to him that there were too many enemies and the fight could have only ended with a catastrophe, he had stayed rather calm. He just had to get Taehyung, take Junsu and Taemin with him and go. Leeteuk’s men were not his concern anyway.

But then he had felt a strange presence in the church – the same vampire whom he had sensed earlier – and after a moment a bunch of terrified people had run through the main door where Jaejoong had been fighting off a rather large group of hunters. Or no, not all of them were hunters, some had simply been wearing long robes, but they had not had any silver weapons with them or drawings on their face. Anyway, once outside, he had noticed that the enemy had got replenishment. Around fifty gunmen were going towards the church, dressed in black from head to toe, but not wearing the long robes of the hunters. Fortunately Jaejoong had not sensed a lot of silver.

“I’ll take them, hyung,” Taemin had said. He had followed Jaejoong out of the cathedral.

“Taemin, wait, there’s too many…”

“You can pray for me, hyung!” the younger vampire had called out jokingly. Taemin always went like this when he was fighting, drunk on the blood and adrenaline. “And cross fingers to be sure!”

Then he had leapt towards the men. Jaejoong had watched after him, lowering his guard only for a moment – and right then a hunter had stabbed his arm with a silver knife. The weapon had been large and heavy, cutting through his flesh with one go and scraping the bone.

Jaejoong had had to retreat and when the wound had finally healed enough for him to use his arm again, Taemin was nowhere to be seen.

Furious, Jaejoong leapt in the middle of a bunch of hunters and killed about five of them before the others understood what was going on. Using someone’s head as a stepping stone, he jumped up, clung to the capital of an entrance pillar and pulled himself up, above the main entrance. From there he climbed on, until he reached the lower window of the steeple.

Jaejoong took a deep breath. He did not actually need it, but it helped him to calm down and concentrate. Focusing on his mind, he tried to feel other vampires around him. Taehyung’s presence was weak, but he was not frightened any more. Junsu… there was something bad happening to him, but the mysterious stranger was also there and now Jaejoong felt it clearly that the other was not hostile towards them. He really hoped the man would help Junsu, because he himself could not be in two places at the same time.

Taemin was… struggling. And hurting. And… one of the cars parked on the church square was started.

Jaejoong climbed around the steeple until he was on the cathedral roof. The jump in the church with Yoongi was nothing compared to what he intended to do now. He took a few steps back to gain momentum, then ran to the edge of the roof and sprang forward as a flash. Legs stretched out before him, he speeded through the air and swooped through the front window, glass shattering around him. The driver did not have even time to scream, before Jaejoong had already broken his neck and yanked the keys out of the starter. With those same keys he slashed the throat of the man in the passenger seat and hopped on the back seat. The car swerved and drove into a tree next to the church.

Taemin was lying on the back seat, silver chain wrapped around him from neck to toe, looking at the elder guiltily. Jaejoong ripped off the coat of the dead driver and turned back to Taemin, using the fabric to protect his hands while he began to untie the other.

“Hyung, I’m sorry,” Taemin said quietly. Jaejoong huffed and continued his work, not looking at him.

“I didn’t know there were hunters with them,” Taemin went on. “I wasn’t careful enough, one of them put a silver stick against my temple and… yeah.”

Jaejoong was still silent.

“I could have handled this,” Taemin insisted. “Honestly. Well, I’m really glad you came, because I was in kind of a bad situation, but I could have got my hands free and…”

Jaejoong shot him a withering look and Taemin snapped his mouth shut. The elder pulled the chain off, opened the door and dragged Taemin out with him. There he pushed the other backwards until his back hit the church wall, and stared at him, hands on the wall, arms bracketing Taemin’s face.

Taemin licked his lips nervously and looked away. “I’m sorry?” he offered again.

Jaejoong hit his shoulder so hard that the younger vampire flinched from pain. “You fool! You utter, complete, mindless fool! What if you had died? What if you had been seriously injured? Do you ever think before acting?”

Taemin shrunk into himself. “Hyung, I’m sorry, I just…”

“Don’t you dare,” Jaejoong growled, yanking Taemin closer by the collar. “You’re ‘sorry’? One more word and I’ll… You… you…” Before Taemin could react, Jaejoong grabbed him by neck and pressed a desperate kiss onto his lips. And then another. And another.

Taemin startled, but did not pull away. Instead, he twisted his fingers into Jaejoong’s shirt and held on for dear life as the other ravished his mouth.

“Fool,” Jaejoong mumbled between kisses. “Absolute idiot. Promise me… you’ll never… do it again…”

“Hyung,” Taemin tried to speak, but Jaejoong kissed him again. “Hyung… aah… mmm… hyung, I… I love you.”

Jaejoong froze.

“Hyung,” Taemin started again, “you can say to me whatever you want, but I really love you. I always will. You can’t change that.”

The elder squeezed his eyes shot and turned his head away. His hands, still clutching to Taemin, were trembling slightly.

“Hyung…?”

Jaejoong blinked, averting his eyes from Taemin. Normally he would have fled the situation, but tonight he had been too close to losing his friend. “I…” he chocked, “I… yes, I love you too, Taemin-ah… but…”

“No but,” Taemin stated firmly, taking Jaejoong’s chin and turning his head to meet his eyes. “Stop with this. I love you, you love me – hyung, please…”

“I’ll ruin everything again,” the other whispered.

“I’ll fix it again,” Taemin promised. “We’ll fix it again.”

Jaejoong was silent. A single tear found its way down his cheek and Taemin caught it with a tentative finger.

“Okay,” he finally sighed. “We… we can try. But if I hurt you…”

“You won’t.”

“But if I hurt you,” Jaejoong continued, “you have to tell me and we… aah, I don’t know.”

“We can go to Junsu-hyung for couple counselling,” Taemin offered, chuckling.

“Junsu!” Jaejoong snorted. “It’s… well… it’s actually the least ridiculous idea of yours tonight.”

“See.” Taemin sent the elder a blinding smile. “We’ll be okay.”

“At first we have some more hunters to kill,” Jaejoong replied. “And then we have to see how Junsu&Co are doing.”

Taemin looked around. “About the hunters… I think our work here is done.”

Jaejoong followed his gaze. The church square was almost empty of any living beings. The corpses of the hunters were lying around everywhere and a few members of Bam Jangmi Pa were standing in the middle of them, seemingly feeling as lost as the two vampires. Jaejoong sensed a powerful presence somewhere close to them and when he turned to the side, he saw a man with pinkish brown hair, wearing a simple white shirt and jeans. He was walking away from them, but turned around for a moment and smiled at them. Taemin gasped audibly and Jaejoong closed his eyes against the dread-filled awe rising in him.

When he opened his eyes again, the man was gone.

“Wow,” Taemin whispered. “That was… that was _beautiful_.”

Jaejoong shuddered. _Beautiful_ was not the word he would have used. More like terrifying, frightening, unearthly… but yes, he had to admit the stranger was beautiful as well. In a sense the volcano eruptions or tsunami waves were beautiful.

There was something weirdly familiar with him, but Jaejoong could not, for the love of his late king and ancestors, put his finger on the feeling. He shook his head and sighed. “Let’s go inside.”

“Hyung, wait!” Taemin was still standing by the wall, looking somewhat sheepish.

“What’s it?”

The younger vampire coughed awkwardly. “Before we go… could you kiss me again?”

Jaejoong turned to stare at him, unblinking, a strange gleam in his eyes. “Come here.”

Taemin stepped closer, until they were almost face to face. Jaejoong slowly raised his hand to run his fingers through the silky locks and tilt Taemin’s head a little. His other hand brushed over the younger’s cheek and neck, caressing the icy skin and the burns left by the silver. He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it and placed his lips onto Taemin’s in the softest kiss.

When they parted again, Taemin threw his hands around Jaejoong’s shoulders and hid his face into the other’s neck.

“Thank you, hyung,” he whispered.

Jaejoong slowly shook his head. “Come now. We have a lot to do.”

* * *

High on the adrenaline, Yoongi grabbed Junsu by the neck and pressed their lips together. The vampire opened his mouth in a surprised gasp, allowing Yoongi to push his tongue right into the cool wetness. Yoongi tasted blood in Junsu’s mouth, pungent and metallic, clinging to his teeth and tongue and the hard velvety palate. The elder’s fangs pressed into Yoongi’s lips and tore a needy whimper out of him.

Junsu melted into the kiss, tension slowly leaving his shoulders. He slumped back and tilted his head, allowing the human to control the kiss. Yoongi pressed forward, closer to Junsu, and pushed his growing erection against the other’s hip. The familiar heavy atmosphere was surrounding Junsu again and it made Yoongi equal parts of content and turned on.

The vampire bit his lip and caused him to break the kiss.

“You’re hard,” Junsu remarked, a slight amusement in his voice, but this odd faraway look still in his eyes. “Want me to do something about it?”

“Hyung,” Yoongi breathed, “want to… oh… fuck…”

He pulled back, took Junsu’s face between his hands and pressed their foreheads together, panting slightly. “I know that… that we should… go and look… for the others first… and for _him…_ but…”

“No!” Junsu snapped quickly, but then bit his lip and sighed. “We can go to the others… I’d like to see how Taehyung is doing, but… let _him_ be. He doesn’t… I’m fairly certain he doesn’t want to see me right now.”

“You know each other?”

Junsu averted his eyes, a little pout on his plump lips. He looked adorable like this, almost petulant and so very young. But despite the ethereal air still lingering around them, Yoongi felt something akin to dread rising in his stomach.

“Is he…” Yoongi gulped and pressed his fingers into the soft skin of Junsu’s cheeks. “Is he the one who…”

“Kiss me,” Junsu interrupted him all of a sudden. “Kiss me now. I’ll tell you later, I promise.”

Surprised, Yoongi obliged. The vampire dove into the kiss with a desperate abandon, clutching Yoongi’s shoulders and pressing their mouths together so forcefully that one of his canines dug into the inside of Yoongi’s lower lip. His eyes were tightly shut and Yoongi felt his hands trembling.

Yoongi had an idea. Or, to be honest, he had had it for quite a long time, since the moment Leeteuk gave him permission to go to the cathedral with the others. He was not sure if it was a good idea, but he was willing to try.

“Hyung, I want you to fuck me.”

Well, he certainly got Junsu’s attention. The look on the vampire’s face was almost comical, his eyebrows raised high and mouth open in surprise. “What?”

“If you want to,” Yoongi added quickly.

“Now?” Junsu asked, still taken aback. “We… we have maybe fifteen minutes at most, before someone will come looking for us.”

Yoongi nodded. “Then we’ll better be quick. I…” His cheeks were growing hot and he was sure that normally Junsu would have already been teasing him for blushing. “I even prepared myself.”

“You…” Junsu shook his head, a smile starting to tug the corners of his mouth. “You _prepared_? When?”

“Earlier… at the hotel…” Now his face was beet red for sure. “I cleaned up… I thought… if we win…”

A breathless laughter left Junsu’s lips. He took a step back and held the blushing man firmly by the shoulders, looking at him with a twinkle in his eye. “Yoongi-ah, do I understand it correctly that you planned to have _celebratory sex_? Here? Right after the fight?”

Yoongi nodded again, feeling more embarrassed with every second. Junsu let out another loud cackle, threw his arms around the younger and muffled his laugh against Yoongi’s shoulder.

“Oh my,” the vampire wheezed. “How lovely! How utterly romantic!”

“Hyung!” Yoongi protested. “Don’t tease.”

Junsu lifted his head and wiped his eyes. “Tell me, Romeo, did you think of bringing the lube as well? Because I don’t have it… again.”

“No,” Yoongi mumbled, “I forgot. And I was kind of hoping that you’ll take the role of Romeo this time.”

Junsu snorted. “Okay, Juliet, as you wish. But seriously, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Yoongi kissed him again. He noticed with satisfaction that Junsu’s hands were not trembling any more. And the way Junsu pushed a leather-clad thigh between his legs was definitely intentional.

“I love it when you hurt me,” Yoongi whispered between kisses. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Kinky,” Junsu teased. Yes, now he looked a lot more like himself again. “However, a few bite marks are not the same as a chafed asshole.”

“Hyung!” Yoongi whined. He was being irrational, he knew it, but he was still riding on the adrenaline and he could have died before or, even worse, Junsu could have died and now everything was right – _almost_ right – and Junsu was here and he wanted to lose himself into the vampire’s overwhelming presence and wipe this awfully distant look away from his eyes and shake himself free from this otherworldly serenity which actually felt really good, but now when he was almost sure that the mystical stranger was the one who had turned Junsu, he was rather disgusted with himself for enjoying this, and…

“Yoongi,” Junsu said softly. “You’re spacing out. Look at me.”

Yoongi pressed his face against the cool skin of Junsu’s neck. “Hyung, do you want to fuck me now or not?”

“Ah, what a charmer,” Junsu chuckled, but the low rumble in his voice betrayed that he was more affected by Yoongi’s words than he let it show. “Yoongi, baby, of course I want you, but I don’t want to accidentally injure you anyhow.”

Yoongi nuzzled deeper into Junsu’s neck, the word _baby_ echoing over and over in his head and filling him with buzzing warmth. “You can be as careful as you want,” he murmured, “you can take it as slowly as you want, but… really, hyung. Please. If you don’t want it because of yourself, then I’ll stop, but if you’re worried about me, then… don’t. I want it. Now.”

Junsu hugged him closer. “Okay,” he whispered, voice definitely breathier than before. “Okay. But I’m not doing anything with you here, in the church.”

“Why not?”

Junsu snorted and let Yoongi go for a second, only to take his hand and drag him out of a side door. “I may be a cursed, blood-sucking monster, but even I have my limits.”

“You can suck my blood at any time,” Yoongi snickered, struggling to keep up with the vampire’s speed. “Or any other thing of mine you ever want to.”

Junsu laughed, pulled Yoongi into a dark corridor and then through another door, out of the church. Yoongi barely had time to blink when Junsu dragged him over the pavement and pushed him to his knees right next to a low hedge.

“Hyung!” Yoongi hissed. “It’s cold!”

“Well, sucks for you,” Junsu remarked cheerfully. “Because I will not sleep with you in the church.”

“Coward.”

“Blasphemer,” Junsu gave back, still giggling, and stroked Yoongi’s lower back softly. “Do you want it here or shall we wait till we’re at my place? I have lube at home, you know.”

Yoongi shook his head, noticing with a small sense of relief that the snow had stopped by now. “Here. Now. Please.”

There were a few people running around on the church square and some kind of fight still seemed to be going on near the main door, but no one came to them. A strange feeling of tranquillity had draped itself over them and just like before, under the piano, Yoongi felt that nothing bad could happen to them. Everything else seemed so far away, there were only him and Junsu and the promise of a pleasure to come.

Junsu made a noise of amusement at Yoongi’s eagerness, hiked the man’s hips up and yanked his jeans down all along with his underwear. Before Yoongi could comprehend what was happening, there were cold hands and sharp teeth on his bare bottom. And then Junsu pulled his cheeks apart and Yoongi felt something cool and wet right against his hole.

“Fuck!” he cried in surprise, jerking away from the cold sensation, but Junsu’s strong hands held his hips firmly in place.

“Be still,” the vampire growled and dived back between Yoongi’s cheeks. He sucked and licked the tender flesh, occasionally nipping at the rim or dipping his tongue into the man’s quivering hole. Yoongi gasped and moaned and tried to brace himself for the onslaught, but soon his hands gave out and he fell face-first to the wet pavement. He winced from the cold.

“Here.” Junsu lifted his head a bit and tucked something under his cheek. It was the vampire’s coat. Yoongi sighed gratefully and nuzzled into the fabric. It smelt sweet and calm and a little bit of metallic. Just like Junsu.

The elder gave Yoongi’s ass one last kiss, pulled back a little and spit at the puckered hole, letting his saliva drip into the tight opening. Yoongi let out an embarrassingly high moan when he felt a long finger breaching him right after. It hurt a little, even with all of the spit Junsu had used, but then the vampire added his tongue to the finger and Yoongi was past caring.

After a while he felt Junsu carefully withdrawing and then pushing at his rim with two fingers. Slowly, very slowly, Junsu eased just the fingertips in, all the while lapping at the tense ring of muscles. The vampire’s spit run down Yoongi’s cleft, to his perineum and balls, tight from cold and arousal.

Gradually Junsu pushed his fingers in until Yoongi felt the other’s knuckles against his ass. He keened, high and long, legs shivering from exertion and walls clamping down on Junsu’s fingers. Two hurt noticeably more than one, but he wanted, he wanted, he _wanted…_

“Shh…” Junsu whispered and rubbed Yoongi’s lower back. “It will get better soon. Try to relax.”

Yoongi nodded and let out a shivering moan.

“Do you…” There was hesitation in Junsu’s voice. “Do you really want to continue?”

“Want…” Yoongi groaned. “Want this… want you… want now…”

Junsu snorted softly. “Whatever. Your ass, your problem.” He added more spit and rotated his fingers slowly. One of them brushed against Yoongi’s prostate, making his body twitch violently. Junsu chuckled and repeated the action.

Yoongi’s legs felt numb by the time Junsu deemed him ready for a third finger. His voice was hoarse from crying out and he had been brought to the verge of coming for more than once by the vampire’s deft fingers firmly massaging his prostate. He was sure their fifteen minutes were over, but nobody had came for them yet.

“I’m going to run out of spit soon,” Junsu commented mirthfully, before giving Yoongi’s hole another wet kiss. The third finger was easier than expected.

“You can…” Yoongi had to take a breath before going on, “you can always continue… fuck… you can always continue with your come, you know.”

“Oh, dear.” It was hard to decipher from Junsu’s voice if Yoongi’s words had aroused or amused him. “One more finger. Ready?”

Yoongi moaned. “You have already… aah, right there… already three fingers in… Just… ooh, fuck… just fuck me, hyung.”

“You’ll have to walk later.” Junsu scissored his fingers and withdrew them a bit, before pushing his pinky in as well.

“Ugh.” Yoongi felt light-headed and floaty. Everything around him seemed so soft, surreal and glowing from the edges. “Fuck walking.”

Junsu only laughed and rubbed his prostate again, until Yoongi threatened to choke Junsu with his bare hands if the other did not start fucking him at this instant.

Finally, fucking _finally_ Junsu pulled his fingers free and Yoongi collapsed to the cold stones. Through his daze he felt Junsu lifting him up and carrying him somewhere. Then they were sitting down, Yoongi halfway in the other’s lap, his back against Junsu’s firm chest. Junsu had already opened the buttons of his pants and his erection, slick with pre-come, was prodding Yoongi’s stretched opening.

“Didn’t notice the bench earlier,” Junsu explained while holding Yoongi back from impaling himself onto his cock. The coat he had grabbed with him was tossed over the backrest. “Hey, take it slower, will you?”

“Come on,” Yoongi whined and tried to sit down with one go. But Junsu held his hips in an iron grip and sank him down so slowly that Yoongi felt every inch of the elder’s cock sliding past his sensitive rim and stretching him wider.

The expletive that was on Yoongi’s tongue turned into a shuddering moan as Junsu gradually filled him. Yoongi throw his head back, the tendons in his neck taut from the exertion, and clutched at Junsu’s bare arms. The vampire himself had pressed his forehead against Yoongi’s shoulder and was panting softly.

“How –” Junsu choked on a moan as Yoongi’s insides contracted around him involuntarily. “How are you feeling?”

Yoongi took a few moments to catch his breath. He was full – _so_ full – and dizzy with arousal. Junsu’s cock rubbed his prostate with every little movement of his, making him shiver and twitch occasionally from the intense sensation.

“Full…” Yoongi finally gasped. “Good. Wait a… wait a second.”

Junsu held perfectly still. Only his thumbs drew soothing circles on Yoongi’s skin and his tongue was softly dancing over the man’s neck.

“Okay.” Yoongi tried to adjust himself. “Fuck… my jeans are on the way.”

Junsu leaned back to give Yoongi more room. “You can always take them off.”

“Hell, no.” Carefully, Yoongi searched for a more comfortable position and fixed his jeans and underwear, leaving only his bottom bare. His legs were dangling over Junsu’s thighs, feet barely touching the ground. “My dick would fall off from the cold.”

Junsu tilted Yoongi’s head back and kissed his cheek. “It’s not much warmer in the church, you know.”

“Oh, it definitely is,” Yoongi groaned, but, despite the cold, braced himself with his hands on Junsu’s thighs and moved his hips a little. It was still a tight fit, but the copious amounts of spit Junsu had used made it considerably easier. And the vampire’s pre-come was gradually slicking up the way. Junsu tried to hold himself back, Yoongi could feel it, but the air around them was swirling nonetheless, pressing him closer to Junsu and making him so wonderfully content.

“Move,” Yoongi breathed out, leaning against Junsu’s bare chest. He could not do much in this position, but Junsu took a hold of his hips and lifted him up slowly, before lowering him back into his lap. The easy display of strength sent another surge of arousal through Yoongi’s body. He let out a choked moan as Junsu’s cock filled him once more, their angle letting Junsu slide so deep into him that he felt the other in his stomach.

Soon Junsu built up a slow rhythm. He moved the man up and down on his erection, snapping his hips upwards every time he pulled Yoongi down. The sting was still there, but Yoongi more than welcomed it, especially with the way Junsu’s cock nudged his prostate with every thrust inside. The sharp, electric jolts of pleasure were almost too much, making Yoongi shake and punching desperate moans out of him, but he was far from stopping. It was exhilarating to be so completely at the vampire’s mercy, to let him move Yoongi every way he pleased. Junsu’s hands were firm on his hips, fingers digging into the skin a little bit too hard – Junsu was probably so aroused that his control was slipping –, and Yoongi hoped there would be marks afterwards. He wanted to remember this. He wanted to remember every moment he spent with Junsu.

Sharp fangs were scraping his neck and Yoongi automatically tilted his head to give Junsu more room.

“I won’t feed on you,” Junsu rasped, his voice deep and husky. “I’m too full and… oh… and you need your blood at the moment more than I do. Just…” He nudged Yoongi’s head back with his jaw and left wet kisses all over the man’s throat. Then he pulled the collar of Yoongi’s jacket aside with his teeth and revealed the large bruise he had left the night before. With an appreciating groan, Junsu attacked the blue and purple skin, sucking it into his mouth as much as possible and biting down gently, but not enough to draw blood. Finally he let the skin go with a wet pop and attached himself to another yet unblemished patch. And all the while he was steadily lifting Yoongi on his cock.

Yoongi’s head rolled back on Junsu’s shoulder, his mouth open in an almost constant moan. The air around the elder had grown thicker again, weighing Yoongi down and turning his limbs into a jelly. Junsu’s thrusts gained more power, his cock reaching even deeper inside Yoongi. He was in Yoongi and around Yoongi and his presence permeated every inch of Yoongi’s mind and body, until the man did not know where he ended and the vampire began. The whole world was Junsu, only Junsu.

Yoongi had closed his eyes, completely unaware of his surroundings, not even registering the noises he was making or Junsu’s breathless moans behind him. Only when the other whispered, “Touch yourself for me,” he moved his hand obediently and took a hold of his dripping erection. He was so sensitive that even the lightest touch sent a current of almost painful pleasure through his body, causing him to twitch forcefully and open his eyes wide.

Full moon shone in the sky, large and bright, just above his head. Junsu pressed a long kiss to the side of his face and with a strangled cry, Yoongi came, Junsu’s lips on his cheek and the pearlescent moon looking over them. He felt Junsu drive two more times into him and then the vampire’s warm come painted his insides white.

Yoongi slumped against Junsu, completely spent. The rush from earlier had faded and instead a pleasant warm buzz gradually spread into every corner of his being. As if in a dream, Yoongi felt Junsu kissing him and then slowly pulling out. He winced from sensitivity and Junsu murmured a soft apology. The elder’s seed started to drip out of him, but even if the feeling was not the most comfortable, Yoongi was too tired to do anything.

Junsu, apparently, had enough energy.

“We need to clean you up,” he said. “Do you have a tissue or something?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Hotel.”

Junsu thought a bit. Then, still holding Yoongi, he draped his coat over the bench and set Yoongi down gently, so that the latter was lying on his stomach.

Yoongi sighed sleepily. “Whaddaya doin’?”

“Cleaning you up.” Tentatively he pulled Yoongi’s ass cheeks apart and licked the swollen rim.

“Hyung!” Yoongi yelped, suddenly much more awake. “What… aah… careful, fuck, it’s too… no, don’t stop, don’t…”

Junsu swirled his tongue lightly around Yoongi’s rim. Then he put his mouth on the fluttering hole and sucked. Hard.

Yoongi groaned and pressed his face into the vampire’s coat, the sensation good in itself, but definitely bordering on too much. Thankfully Junsu was quick and efficient. He sucked off most of the come, licked the rim relatively clean and helped Yoongi to put on his underwear and jeans again. Finally he sat back on the bench and lifted Yoongi into his lap.

“So,” Junsu asked when they were comfortable again, “you good?”

Yoongi hummed. “Much more than good. And sleepy.”

“Hold on for a bit longer,” Junsu said against his neck. The elder’s lips were ticklish. And soft. And warm. “We need to see how Taehyung is doing. And check on your friends. And I think Leeteuk wants to see us as well.”

Yoongi’s next hum sounded more like a pouty whine. “One more minute.”

Junsu laughed. “Okay, one more minute.”

“Good,” Yoongi mumbled and wiggled in Junsu’s lap to get more comfortable. His ass throbbed dully, but overall he felt really, really nice. Junsu’s hands around him were almost warm and even the cold December air did not feel so chilly any more.

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu whispered, nibbling at the man’s neck. His short hair was brushing against Yoongi’s cheek and Yoongi absent-mindedly rubbed his face against the soft strands. “When this mess here is sorted out, I want to take you on a proper date.”

Yoongi twisted his head and looked at Junsu, surprised. The other was not joking, was he? “Really, hyung? A date?”

The vampire gave his neck another little bite. “I mean,” he murmured, teeth scraping the tender skin, “if you want to, of course.”

Yoongi gave him a mock-frown. “A date? Just one date?”

Junsu chuckled softly and his cool breath sent little shivers of pleasure down Yoongi’s spine. “Many dates? How’s that sound? And I can finally get rid of this not-boyfriend title.”

Yoongi had to grip Junsu’s arm to regain his composure. A sudden rush of warmth engulfed his heart and his throat went dry. He drew a sharp breath and swallowed heavily.

“Yeah,” he finally whispered. “That sounds really good.”

They were caught, of course. It was Hoseok who stumbled onto them, took a step back and just stared at them for a moment, taking in their dishevelled clothes and matching dopey smiles.

“God bless your work, gentlemen,” he leered. “But you’d better come now… along with me, I mean. Junsu-ssi, Leeteuk is looking for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Google Maps. At this point I know the surroundings of Myeongdong cathedral better than my own backyard. By the way, I don’t recommend having sex on the pavement – it seems quite harsh for knees –, but there really are some nice benches behind the church. The hedge and the trees should make a good cover from the one side. And, if someone is feeling especially adventurous, there’s a tree next to one of the side doors, right in the middle of a small grass patch. There’s some grass directly next to a church as well, but it is illuminated by the lamps at night, so the people in the office of Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul would have quite a view. XD  
> Also, I know that pulling a deus ex machina is not the best way to solve a bleak situation in the story, but I just wanted you to finally meet Junsu’s maker. :) I’m not sure if I’m including him directly in any other stories I might write about this universe, but I thought that he deserved at least one little cameo.


	9. An Unexpected Holiday

Before going to Leeteuk, Junsu made sure that Yoongi was safely in Amber’s car. Taehyung was also there, laying in the makeshift bed on the floor, eyes closed, Jimin and Jungkook by his side. The vampire still looked awfully tired, but definitely better than before. His chest was bandaged and the burns on his neck, hands and feet had begun to fade. A strong smell of blood wafted towards Yoongi, indicating that Taehyung had been feeding earlier.

“Yoongi!” Seokjin screeched from the driver’s seat, Namjoon sitting next to him. “Thank God, you’re alive, you fucking idiot! We thought…”

“Ssh, hyung!” Jimin admonished him, but Taehyung had already woken up.

“Yoongi?” the vampire called sleepily. “How are you? You and Junsu-hyung gave us quite a show before.”

Yoongi pressed past the front seats, to the back where Amber was still checking her screens and talking to someone through the radio. It was quite cramped there, monitors and radio equipment everywhere, Taehyung’s bed squeezed between the wall and a large computer.

“I’m good.” With a slight surprise Yoongi realised that he really felt good – even his head was not hurting any more. “What show are you talking about?”

It was Jimin who snickered in a way Yoongi was not sure he liked. “Oh, it started already in the church.” The man pointed to a screen that was showing the choir and altar. “Junsu-hyung shielding you from the bullets with his body. Tae went crazy here, said that he had never seen anything so romantic.”

“It was nothing,” Seokjin interrupted him, turning around in his seat. “The real fun began after the fight. What a shame they did not choose a place with a better view.”

Yoongi frowned at him. “What?”

Amber chose to acknowledge him at last. She took off her headphones and threw Yoongi somewhat disgusted glance. “Thank fuck you had the decency to leave the church. The feed of the external security cameras was bad enough, but fortunately it was too dark to see anything properly.”

“Wait, what?” Yoongi hid his face in his palms as the horrible reality dawned on him. “You guys saw me and Junsu-hyung…”

“… fucking,” Seokjin helpfully finished for him. “There are cameras outside the cathedral as well.”

“Never knew you can be such a sub, hyung,” Namjoon added in an awfully smug voice. “As Seokjin-hyung said, you should have chosen a place with a better lighting, but the things we still managed to see… wow.”

“I hate my life,” Yoongi groaned. “Kill me now.”

“Better not,” Jungkook piped in. “I’m afraid Junsu-hyung would be terribly disappointed.”

“Fuck you.”

“I think it was hot,” Taehyung mumbled from where he was squeezed between Jimin and Jungkook. “Especially Junsu-hyung eating your ass. Next time invite me over.”

“Fuck you too.”

“Yes, please!”

“Forget it, I changed my mind.”

When they had finally calmed down enough, Amber quickly caught them up on the most important things. The hunters were not acting on their own, neither following the orders of Dal Yong Pa, but Leeteuk’s own advisors had sniffed out Taehyung’s identity and sent the hunters to him. It also explained the large crowd in the church, because many people participating in the ritual had not been hunters, but the underlings of Leeteuk’s uncle, dressed as hunters. The delay of help was his doing as well – his hackers had infiltrated into the radio system and told the additional forces that there had been a change of plans and they did not need to attack the cathedral.

“But tonight’s conflict,” Amber said more cheerfully, “weakened their lines a lot. I really want to know who was that man in the church, because without him our chances to make it out alive would have been very slim. Also, I doubt the hunters would want to work with Leeteuk’s uncle any time soon. But I still think that you, Taehyung-ah, should be in hiding for a while, until things have became more stable.”

“Yes, noona,” Taehyung hummed, almost asleep again.

“But first you have to rest as much as you need and then Leeteuk will…”

“Wait,” Yoongi cut in, suddenly realising something. “Taehyung, you called Amber _noona_. That means you can’t be older than I am.”

“She just looks older than…”

“Of course he’s not older than you,” Jimin said at the same time, completely unaware of Taehyung shaking his head. “He’s born on the same year with me. 1995.”

Yoongi stared the vampire as sternly as he could. “Then you should call me hyung.”

“Nope.” Taehyung grinned at him sleepily. “You’re too small.”

“Fuck… or no, I’d rather not.”

Taehyung yawned. “What a shame.”

And then he was out as light again.

Leeteuk wanted to leave the cathedral as quickly as possible. The bodies of the hunters were left as they were, but the fallen Bam Jangmi Pa members, both on their side or against them, had to be transported away with vans, to not give the police too much clues about the clan activities. Amber promised to drive Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook to the hotel and Yoongi found himself in Hoseok’s car, pressed between Seokjin and Junsu, Namjoon in the passanger seat and Jaejoong with Taemin at the back. Jaejoong was silent and Junsu seemed to be unnaturally tense around him, but Yoongi was too tired to ask about it now.

“So,” Seokjin said when Hoseok had started the car, tilting his head and giving Junsu a thorough once-over, “you’re a vampire? Like Dracula or something?”

Junsu grinned. With his canines pulled back, the smile looked deceptively human. “Much more real than Dracula. I have done a bit of research with Jaejoong-hyung and found out that Dracula as a vampire was almost certainly the product of Bram Stoker’s imagination. The historical prototype, prince Vlad III Drăculea, was human through and through. There’s always a possibility, though…”

“Vlad?” Seokjin asked, a smirk slowly creeping to his face. “His name was Vlad?”

“Oh no,” Yoongi muttered. “Beware some terrible dad joke.”

“Does it mean –” Seokjin was laughing too hard to speak. He grabbed Yoongi’s shoulder for a support and slapped his own knee repeatedly. Junsu looked at him curiously.

“Ah,” the vampire realised. “It’s the pun master, am I right?”

“Don’t call him the pun _master_ ,” Yoongi warned. “It’s better not to encourage him. Hyung, you’re crushing my shoulder.”

Seokjin paid him no heed. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. “Does it mean,” he began again, “that a vampire lover could also be called Vladdy-daddy?”

Junsu stared at Seokjin for a moment. Then he doubled over, clutching at Yoongi’s other shoulder, and cackled loudly that distinctive laugh of his.

Yoongi looked at them, trying to seem unimpressed. “You should start a club of freaky laugh. One of you sounds like a coughing dog and the other one squeaks as a windshield wiper.”

“I can’t breathe!” Seokjin wailed. “Vladdy-daddy… I’m a genius!”

Junsu released Yoongi’s shoulder and clapped his hands, but then he burst into laughter again which caused him to promptly fall on Yoongi.

“Ouch,” the man complained, trying to fight back a smile but giving up eventually.

“Vladdy-daddy,” Seokjin wheezed.

Junsu only laughed. Right into Yoongi’s ear.

“I will never call you daddy,” Yoongi grumbled. Or tried to grumble, to be precise, because the exasperation he sought to convey did not sound very convincing with the way he was smiling. “Don’t get yourself any ideas.”

Junsu shook his head, still cackling. “No, thank you, I’m relieved we’re on the same page. But the joke itself was…”

The end of his sentence was lost in another burst of laughter.

“Vladdy-daddy,” Seokjin whispered. “I’m a genius.”

“You’re a dickhead, that’s what you are.”

“Oh, hyung.” It was Namjoon this time. “Is Junsu-hyung finally elevated from not-yet-boyfriend level to boyfriend level? I mean, you two seemed kind of close before, behind the church.”

“Fuck you, you asshole.”

“I’m afraid Junsu-hyung would object.”

“Do you hear them, hyung?” Yoongi complained, turning to Junsu. “They’re bullying me. Do something.”

“So?” Junsu replied. “Why are you looking at me? The celebratory sex was your idea, I only indulged you like a good soon-to-be-boyfriend.”

“You had sex?!” Taemin screeched from the rear seat. “Behind the church? Well, I mean, you smell funny, but I wasn’t sure, because the smell of blood is kind of concealing everything else.”

“They had,” Seokjin confirmed. “Right in front of an external security camera.”

“Congratulations!” Jaejoong called out. “It was a brilliant idea, Yoongi-ah! You should do it more often, maybe it takes his mind off of some… unnecessary things.”

“Um… thank you?” Yoongi was not sure what to make out of Jaejoong’s words. Junsu did not say anything, only leaned his head against the headrest and sighed. The tension in him was back again, but the others were in too high spirits to notice.

“Hyung, what’s wrong with him?” Yoongi whispered to Junsu, as the rest in the car continued discussing their sex life. “Have I done anything? He… he isn’t _jealous_ , is he?”

Junsu sent him a small smile. “No, he’s happy for us. Right now he’s angry and worried, but you have nothing to do with that.”

“What’s the…”

“Later.”

The ride to the hotel was shorter than Yoongi had remembered, but maybe it had to do with the fact that he was half-asleep during most of it. Had he been alone, he would have collapsed in his bed as soon as they reached their destination, and slept like a log until late afternoon, uncaring of the blood and dirt on his clothes, but Junsu made him undress and dragged him to the shower. There he took off his own clothes as well, climbed in the shower with Yoongi and started to wash him, because the latter was too out of it to be much of a use.

It was oddly domestic, Yoongi thought, Junsu’s hands on his bare skin and brow furrowed in concentration. The only awkward moment came when Junsu knelt before him to wash his legs and Yoongi’s dick decided to act up. But Junsu only laughed, told that he was flattered and then, after getting a rather embarrassed permission from Yoongi, promptly proceeded to suck him off. Or lick him off, mostly, because almost in the middle of one of the most amazing blowjobs Yoongi had ever got, Junsu's fangs started to come out again which limited their options somewhat.

But it still felt incredible and if Yoongi had been barely coherent during their time in the shower, then now he was asleep before they had even left the bathroom. He felt Junsu drying him off with a towel and carrying him somewhere, but everything else was an unconscious blackness. He slept without dreams through the morning and noon, long after Junsu had woken up, grumbling about the sun, and pulled down the curtains they had forgotten the night before.

He was woken only once. By Jaejoong again, the second morning in a row. The elder vampire was sitting on the chair next to their bed and talking to Junsu. He sounded angry.

“The next time I see him I’ll kill him by myself.”

“Hyung, be reasonable. He helped us. Without him Taehyung would have been dead.”

“Why was he there? Looking for you?”

“He is my maker. He can feel where I am.”

“You can cut the connection, you know.”

“I’d never.”

“Junsu-ah, it’s not healthy.”

“Hyung, just because your maker was an asshole doesn’t mean everyone else is the same.”

“Most of the vampires are assholes.”

“Well, he is not.”

“He didn’t care about you. He used you. And then tricked you into believing that he…”

“Hyung, we have talked about it. Can we not start again?”

Jaejoong hissed angrily. “I. Don’t. Want. Him. Near. You. Again.”

“You’re not my mother.”

“Thank gods,” Jaejoong snapped, “I prefer to be alive.”

“Whatever.”

There was a short silence and Yoongi used it to fall asleep again.

“So,” Jeongsu said, frowning, “it would be the best for you to leave Korea altogether for a while.”

Taehyung nodded thoughtfully. He was sitting between Jimin and Jungkook, wrapped in the hotel robe, and picking on a blood popsicle Jeongsu had ordered for him. The vampire looked much better than the day before, but he was still weak from the sheer amount of silver he had been exposed to during the last two days.

Jungkook sighed quietly. “I have school,” he whispered to Yoongi who was sitting beside him on the couch, Junsu curled up at the other side.

Taehyung caught the whisper.

“You can stay there,” he told to the younger. “And if you want to, Jiminie can stay with you. I’ll be back before you even notice.”

Jimin and Jungkook shook their heads at the same time.

“We’ll come with you, Tae, there’s no question,” Jimin said firmly.

“Yeah,” Jungkook added, “I can write to the dean and tell them I’m sick or something. I guess most of the professors can mail me their lecture slides.”

Jeongsu twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers and eyed the empty place on the couch next to his own seat. Taemin had sat there with Jaejoong, but the younger vampire had come out for a smoke a few minutes ago.

“Okay,” he said, turning to Taehyung again, “that’s decided then. We’ll talk about the exact location later. But now Yoongi-ssi. You were working in Taehyung’s bookstore, so I’d rather have you out of the picture for a few months as well.”

Junsu stretched himself next to Yoongi and it took all Yoongi’s willpower to not look at his arms, left bare by the t-shirt he was wearing, or the smooth skin on his legs, peeking out from the tears of his borrowed jeans. “I know just the perfect place.”

“Good. Where is it?”

Junsu shook his head. “I’d prefer to keep the location to myself. It’s in Korea, but it’s well-hidden. I like to go there sometimes. Well, if Yoongi agrees, of course.”

Namjoon and Seokjin started snickering ominously. Yoongi eyed them with a frown.

“Hyung,” Namjoon grinned, “I hope there aren’t any cameras.”

“What do you mean?” Seokjin asked, laughing. “If I could, I’d plant a camera to their bedroom by myself. Think of the blackmail material!”

“Shut up, you fucking perverts,” Yoongi grumbled.

“Hey, Yoongi.” It was Hoseok now. “Tell me, what is more perverse – to accidentally see someone fucking in front of the security camera or to actually be the pervert fucking in front of it?”

“Fuck you. I don’t care that you probably have a gun with you at the moment. Fuck you.”

“No, thanks, I prefer to do the fucking. With a woman, if possible.”

“I thought I left a crisis meeting and now you’re having a sexual orientation revealing party?” It was Taemin who entered the room and sat next to Jaejoong.

“You smell like a cigarette,” Jaejoong complained. “I recently quit smoking.”

“How many times have you already quit smoking, hyung?”

Jaejoong simply glared at the younger.

“Okay,” Jeongsu said, side-eyeing Yoongi and Hoseok, “back to the topic. Taemin-ssi, I’d suggest you to lay low for a while as well, but I doubt that my soon-to-be-late advisors associate you with Taehyung.”

“He can stay with me,” Jaejoong offered.

“Yes,” Jeongsu agreed, “it’s probably the wisest decision. In order your own clan is not trying to hunt you down.”

Jaejoong grinned brightly, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Oh, they may be. I gathered some interesting information this morning.”

“Care to share?”

“Nope.”

Jeongsu snorted. “Why did I even ask.”

With that the meeting was over and everyone, except Taehyung and Hoseok, were ushered out of the room by Jeongsu. If the three had looked more closely, they would have noticed a slim figure outside, behind the window, standing silently on the narrow windowsill. But Jaejoong was too experienced to let himself be caught like this, even by his fellow vampire.

The farewell was more emotional than Yoongi had expected. Namjoon hugged him until Yoongi complained about his lungs being crushed, Seokjin lectured him to eat properly and he barely had time to recover when Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook tackled him and suffocated him in a three-way hug, the two humans even shedding some tears.

“Okay, okay, my dearest Chim and Kookie,” Taehyung said, laughing, even if his own eyes were a little watery, “you’ll see each other again. Right, Yoongi? When we’re back, we’ll have a party at my place.”

Yoongi nodded, swallowing his own tears. He was not a crier, but the others might have triggered his reflexes, that was all. “Deal.”

Hoseok clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, man. I hope we’ll meet again some time. You fight quite well for a clueless civilian.”

“Agreed,” Amber spoke up, before hugging Yoongi at the same time with Jackson. “Take care.”

Taemin was next, embracing Yoongi carefully, probably wary of his inhuman strength. He did not say anything, but let his comforting presence wrap around the man. At this rate, Yoongi thought, he was going to develop an addiction for vampire hugs.

Well, he had Junsu to hug to his heart’s content.

Jaejoong was gone to somewhere, but he showed up when Yoongi and Junsu had already left the hotel, taken a taxi and driven to Yoongi’s place to pack some things. He picked the lock and opened the door, but then stopped at the threshold.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in, Yoongi-ah?” he called from where he was standing.

Yoongi called him in three times and was rewarded with a kiss on his forehead and a bone-crushing hug. Well, not literally bone-crushing – Jaejoong had a very good control over his strength.

“Look after Junsu for me,” the elder told him.

“Um…” Yoongi was a little confused. “Isn’t it Junsu-hyung who’s going to look after me?”

“Nah.” Jaejoong planted another kiss on his cheek. “Well, I mean, physically yes, but he has to have someone to talk to and to lean on emotionally, sometimes. He looks strong, but he really needs someone to take care of him from time to time. I know, I’ve known him for almost as long as he’s been a vampire.”

“I can hear you, hyung!” Junsu called from the doorstep. He had gone out for a minute to load Yoongi’s bags into a taxi that was waiting for them.

“Susu!” Jaejoong exclaimed, let Yoongi go, grabbed the younger vampire by the neck and pressed their lips together. The kiss was _very_ intimate for a friendly farewell, but to his surprise, Yoongi did not feel a slightest bit of jealousy. After all, it was him whom Junsu was dating.

And, of course, the two vampires looked really good together.

“You’d better keep your human.” Jaejoong wagged a finger under Junsu’s nose. “I warn you, if you leave him…”

Junsu laughed. “I won’t, hyung, I won’t. As long as he wants me.”

The place where Junsu took him was a small cottage at the southern end of the Sobaek Mountains, near the Jirisan National Park. Junsu said that with clear weather they should have even been able to see the peaks of the gorgeous Jirisan mountain itself, but right now it was too dark. Moreover, the sky was cloudy and the mountains were covered by a thick and clammy fog that penetrated through Yoongi’s winter coat and made him shiver from cold. They had taken a train to Suncheon – almost a three-hour ride – and then a taxi that had brought them as high up as the road went. The last two kilometres were an exhausting hike along the narrow mountain roads. When they finally reached the place sometime after midnight, Yoongi’s feet were almost dead, even if Junsu had been carrying most of their stuff.

“I had a decent vinyl collection here before,” Junsu told him while opening the door and hauling their bags inside, “but there was a big storm few years ago, a tree fell through the window and destroyed most of it. After this I moved the survived vinyls to Seoul. There’s only one I like to listen sometimes.”

Yoongi nodded, looking around and taking everything in. The house was small and cosy. From the outside it blended perfectly with the trees and mountainside, making it almost impossible to notice from afar. Inside, there was a large table in the middle of the room, a fireplace, a small stove – just in case, Junsu said, in order if he needed to boil some water – a very comfortable-looking couch and a few rugs scattered over the wooden floor. A door next to the couch led to the bedroom and another door into the washing room. Junsu did not have running water in the house, but he had a well only a short trip away from here.

While the vampire left to bring water for him and Yoongi to wash themselves, Yoongi unpacked his things and switched on the old vinyl player. There was only one song on the vinyl inside the player, “Shine on you crazy diamond” by Pink Floyd, and Yoongi listened it over and over, while dragging his bags into the bedroom and putting his clothes on the shelves in the small closet that Junsu had emptied for him. Out of curiosity, Yoongi took a look at Junsu’s side of the closet and found that the elder had an impressive amount of silky blouses and black leather pants, along with knee-high leather boots.

Junsu had to make four trips for the water, but finally a large metal tub was warming on the stove and five buckets were put aside for later use. By then, Yoongi had already made himself comfortable at the table, brought the vinyl player with him and boiled some water to make instant ramen. He was too tired to cook a proper meal.

Junsu threw a lapful of wood in the fireplace and lit the pile with practised ease. “How are you feeling? Not too cold?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Only tired.”

Junsu sat on the table, in front of him. “The water will be warm soon, then you can wash yourself and go to sleep.”

“No.” Yoongi took a bite of his ramen. “Not sleepy. I slept enough in the train. Just tired from the trip.”

Junsu nodded. With his long fingers he took one noodle from Yoongi’s bowl, put it in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Phew. As tasteless as I remembered.”

“Good,” Yoongi grinned. “Then you can take me to a restaurant and I won’t have to worry about you stealing my food.”

Junsu smiled back at him. “I definitely will. Wherever you want to.”

The vampire’s legs were tantalizingly close to Yoongi, the black leather pulled over the well-formed calves. At Seoul, Junsu had asked the taxi driver to go to his apartment after leaving Yoongi’s and there he had changed out of the jeans and t-shirt he had borrowed before. Now he was wearing his favourite leather pants again, the look complete with a soft black blouse. He had opened the top buttons and his pale chest was peeking out from between the ruffled collar.

Yoongi poked Junsu’s leg with one finger. “Hyung, you have an unhealthy obsession with leather pants. I saw your side of the closet when I was unpacking. You have two shelves only for leather pants.”

“Unhealthy?” Smirking, Junsu lifted his legs on the table and put one leg demonstratively over the other, the black leather tightening around his muscular thighs. “They are practical. Stronger than most of the fabrics. Do you know how fast Jaejoong-hyung and Taemin go through their jeans?”

Yoongi snorted. “Practical my ass.”

“And,” Junsu raised his legs to the table and turned to lie on his stomach, “don’t you like it how they bring out _my_ ass?”

Yoongi patted the said ass. “Of course I do. You look like a medieval twink from some European court.”

“Careful there,” Junsu warned him, laughing. “This medieval twink is your only source of sexual entertainment for at least two months. Well, besides your own hand, of course.”

Yoongi stuffed his mouth full of ramen. “I can watch porn as well,” he told Junsu from between the food in his mouth.

“Unless you have videos downloaded in your phone or laptop, you can’t. There is no internet. And no wireless phone service.”

“Fuck,” Yoongi swore, chuckling. “There goes my backup plan.”

Junsu let out another one of his husky giggles, and resumed his former position, his legs dangling over the edge of the table. From there he watched Yoongi eating, a fond look on his face. The song ended and Junsu opened the cover of the player to place the needle at the beginning again.

When Yoongi lifted his eyes to look at the vampire again, Junsu’s smile had disappeared. He was staring out of the window with a faraway expression, similar to the one Yoongi had seen on him in the church. His fingers were idly playing with the ruffs of his blouse.

“Hyung?”

Junsu turned to him. “Yoongi-ah,” he said thoughtfully, “I promised you something yesterday. You asked me a question. Or… almost asked, to be precise.”

Yoongi chewed on his ramen. “I did?”

“How did I become a vampire.”

“Oh, that.” The man swallowed his mouthful and put the chopsticks away. “Hyung, you don’t have to, really. Jimin has told me about the changing in general and… you don’t have to. Even if we’re dating and all that.”

Junsu shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. Jimin has told you what Taehyung has told him. It’s… different for everyone. I would have died as a human. The vampire who turned me saved my life.”

“You would have died?”

Junsu hummed. “It was during the war, at 1951. I was seventeen years old by then. My home got hit by a bomb.”

“Oh.”

The vampire was silent for a while, his gaze fixed on the flames dancing in the fireplace. “I don’t remember much of it. Screaming… the shrill whistle of a bomb… it’s one of the most terrifying sounds I’ve ever heard. And then the explosion itself, a flash of pain and after this… silence.” Junsu sighed. “The next thing I remember was him. Looking at me with dark red eyes, fangs still dripping with blood – with _my_ blood –, and telling me not to be afraid.” A fleeting smile graced the man’s lips. “I asked him if he was the Angel of Death.”

Junsu turned his face at Yoongi, but then looked away again. “The worst thing about all of this was the feeling of my body changing, morphing into something else entirely. It hurt. A lot. And the thirst, of course, the horrible thirst. He found me some corpses and I drank them all dry. When it was over he explained to me who I was and what exactly he had done to me. I also found out that my parents and brother had died in the explosion. I had a twin brother, you know.”

Yoongi swallowed. “I’m… sorry?” he offered. Honestly, what did you say to a person in a situation like this?

Junsu seemed to understand him. “It was sixty-six years ago,” he said, somewhat soothingly. “Almost sixty-seven by now. Anyway, he spent a year looking after me… and some time later I met Jaejoong-hyung.”

Yoongi furrowed his brow, fiddling with the chopsticks. “Why didn’t he stay with you longer? And… what’s his name?”

Junsu let out a short laugh, but it sounded anything but happy. “I don’t know his name. He didn’t tell me.”

“Why?”

“He… he said that when I don’t know his name… it will be easier for me to… to forget… and to move on. He… he told me that it was not good for me to… to be with him for too long. Said that it would make me too… sad?” Junsu made a grimace that looked a bit like a smile.

Yoongi took another bite of his ramen. “Why it sounds like a bullshit excuse?”

Now Junsu was actually smiling. “No, it isn’t,” he argued. “He was very… tired? Of… being? Of living in this world.”

Yoongi nodded. “Been there, felt that. But still.”

“Yoongi-ah,” Junsu said gently. “Do you know how long do the vampires live?”

The man looked at him bemusedly. “Forever?”

“Exactly,” Junsu confirmed. “And it is almost impossible to kill us, so our population should slowly grow all the time, right?” He did not wait for Yoongi to answer. “And still there are very few of us. Around twenty in Seoul, I’d guess. Why do you think it is like that?”

Yoongi shrugged. “No idea.”

“Yoongi.” Junsu’s voice was very soft. “Do you know how long is forever?”

Yoongi stared at the vampire. “What do you mean?”

Junsu hopped off from the table, stepped closer to the fireplace and put his hand on the mantelpiece. Dancing flames cast a reddish glow onto his porcelain skin.

“We were a great race once,” he said. “Or rather _they_ were, because what I am now is nowhere near to them. Beautiful, wise, immortal beings. Kings and queens, wisest and fairest of all. Rulers of the world, admired and feared among the humans. They called themselves the Firstborns, the High Ones. When humans were still living in half-feral tribes, they had kingdoms, they built cities and palaces, they wrote books, they clothed themselves into the finest garments and made jewellery that is now lost for ever. Lucky were the humans who were taken as servants by them… but they turned no-one, for they did not die and did not need any half-bloods to spoil their race. Their greatest kingdom was an island called Atallanta. Palaces made of marble and gold. Scholars and scientists, dancers and singers. Only the finest, carefully chosen humans for feeding. The place of everlasting joy and beauty and wisdom.”

Yoongi listened, not daring to move. Junsu’s voice had taken a wistful tone and there was a strange gleam in his eyes. His fingers were drawing random patterns on the stones of the fireplace.

“And they knew who they were.” Junsu smiled. “They knew what they were meant to be. Or at least they thought so. They had the eternity to figure out the world and themselves, after all. They were looking for balance in everything; for perfect and carefully measured balance. They lived in the centre of an unblemished peace, in a world of unchanging splendour.”

Junsu was silent for a long time. Yoongi carefully picked up his chopsticks again.

“And… what happened then?”

Junsu brushed some invisible dust from the mantelpiece. “Silver rains. Pure liquid silver falling from the sky. No-one knew where it came from and why. It burned the Firstborns. The drops ate their way through the skin, through organs… and when they reached the heart at full-moon nights, they brought death. The fumes of silver poisoned the air and weakened the Firstborns until they voluntarily sought ways to die. There was a rumour that the scholars in Atallanta had found a cure for this terrible plague and many of the Firstborns travelled there. And then, one night with a full moon, a silver meteorite fell from the sky… right onto the island of Atallanta. All of those who were there, died.”

Junsu turned to look at Yoongi. “He told me that finally the rains ceased. And those who had survived tried to build up everything again. But too many were fallen and too few were alive and now the humans knew that silver could weaken and kill the Firstborns. So they went into hiding and masked themselves as humans… and fought to survive for many millennia, while the world was rapidly changing around them. They faded into myths and legends and the island of Atallanta is now known as the lost Atlantis. Most of them did not want to live like this. Some turned humans into half-bloods to find some kind of solace in their loneliness. Only very few of them are still alive, old as time and tired. Tired of life, tired of grief and the ever-changing world.”

There were tears in Junsu’s voice. Yoongi swallowed and looked away.

“He… in the church…”

“It was him.” Junsu’s gaze was somewhere far away. “He didn’t want to turn me, he said. But he felt pity. For the first time over thousands of years. And he thought that there must be someone… someone who knows what has once been.”

“He loves you. He told me to take care of you.”

Junsu smiled sadly. “I know he does. That’s why he tries to stay away from me. He doesn’t want me to… wallow in his grief, as he put that.”

“But Jaejoong-hyung doesn’t like him?”

Junsu nodded. “Jaejoong-hyung hates the vampires in general. Well, except me, Taemin and Taehyung. Must be something with the way he was turned.” The man came to Yoongi and sat on the chair next to him. “Don’t ask me how, I have no idea. And finish your ramen before it gets cold.”

Yoongi took another bite and chewed slowly. “Hyung, for how long will we be here?”

“I don’t know. A few months, I guess. Don’t worry, I have enough money for food and other things. Oh, and I have a phone.”

“A phone? Here?”

Junsu’s voice was a bit more cheerful than before. “Hey, I like to have some luxuries, even in this periphery of a civilisation. You might want to call Taehyung at morning. His flight should have arrived in Canada by then. And don’t forget Namjoon and Seokjin. They must be worried about you.”

“Taehyung is going to Canada? How do you know?”

“Jaejoong-hyung heard him talking to Leeteuk.” Junsu snorted. “Or, to be honest, spied on them. Told me not to tell anyone else but you.”

Yoongi threw a glance at Junsu. The vampire looked so soft in the yellow light of an old ceiling lamp.

“Hyung, I…”

He paused. _I love you_ was what he had wanted to say, but he felt embarrassed for no reason. He had never been good at expressing his feelings.

“I… thank you.” It sounded a bit lame.

Junsu smiled at him, inched closer and put a hand around his shoulders. Not too tightly, to not disturb his eating. “Thank _you_ , Yoongi-ah.”

Somehow Yoongi did not doubt that Junsu had understood the words he did not dare to say. He hugged the vampire back with one hand and felt more content than he had been for a long time. Fire was crackling merrily, the old vinyl recorder was playing “Shine on you crazy diamond” for at least tenth time in the evening and a few timid snowflakes were slowly dancing behind the window. It was three weeks to Christmas.

Junsu’s phone was not the one that normal people had, a wireless device with a digital screen, but one of those ancient things with a rotary dial. Junsu proudly called it vintage and Yoongi asked him from which museum he had stolen it.

Taehyung answered at the first call.

“Yoongi?” the young vampire asked from the other end of the line. His voice was oddly strained, but cheerful as ever. “Yoongi, my darling! Praise the heavens! You’re alive!”

“Indeed,” Yoongi replied nonchalantly, even if he felt like squealing from relief. “What are you doing?”

“Not what,” Taehyung corrected him, a sudden smugness creeping into his tone, “but whom. Jungkookie, at the moment.”

“Wha- you what?” Yoongi demanded. “Are you telling me… what the fuck? Where is Jimin? Actually, no, I don’t wanna know anything.”

“Well…” Taehyung drawled with obvious satisfaction. “Jimin… aah, oh fuck… Jiminnie is doing _me_.”

Yoongi inhaled deeply. “Taehyung, are you trying to say that you answered my call while having sex with Jungkook _and_ Jimin?”

“But what could I do?” the vampire defended himself. There was some giggling heard in the background. “I tried to call you before, but your phone was off, so I was afraid that the hunters have got Junsu-hyung and put him in the silver cage to wait for the next full moon, while you have been killed by Leeteuk’s advisors, bled to death, skinned alive and eaten while still warm… and then you… ah, yes… then you called and I was like ‘Whoa, they’re alive!’ and I was so happy that I said to ChimChim and Kookie, ‘ _Mon amigos_ , halt your dicks! My little grumpy turtle is calling me!’”

Yoongi could not hold it any more. He let out a strangled squeak and doubled over, shaking with laughter. Between hiccuping gasps he managed to utter a muffled “Guys, I love you”.

“Oh, great!” Taehyung exclaimed. “Then you can come over with Junsu-hyung and we can have a fivesome… oh, Kookie, what… aah!”

“No, thanks,” Yoongi hurried to say. “Not like that, you perv.”

“What a shame...” Taehyung mumbled. “But as great… as great as it was to chat with you, I have to excuse myself because of… oh… of some… urgent matters… aah, yes, Minnie, my lovely ChimChim, just like that…”

Yoongi ended the call as quickly as possible.

Raising his head, Yoongi saw Junsu standing at the door. The vampire was leaning at the door frame and watching the human with an amused expression.

“How’s Taehyung?” Junsu asked, grinning.

“Oh, he’s doing great,” Yoongi responded sarcastically. “He was fucking with Jimin and Jungkook while I called.”

“Ah,” Junsu hummed. “That’s why you are blushing.” A merry giggle fell from his lips. “It reminds me one time when I was foolish enough to go to the cinema with Jaejoong-hyung and Heechul.”

“Hyung,” Yoongi groaned, “I don’t wanna hear it. I already have too many unwanted images in my mind.”

“Oh, you poor little thing.” Junsu smiled teasingly. “Want some help to get rid of them?”

Yoongi sent the elder an exaggerated wink. “Fuck yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished it! Yay! I hope you had at least as much fun reading it as I had while writing it. By the way, most of this chapter (and the two before it) should have a tag “I wrote this instead of my master thesis”. XD Wish me luck with school.  
> I’m not planning on concentrating solely on my studies anytime soon, though. I’m writing a little prequel about how Junsu and Jaejoong met each other. Set in 1953, during the Korean War. Teenage vampire Junsu and 201 years old Jaejoong. *cough* underage vampire smut *cough* If everything goes according to my plans, it should be finished by the end of this week, so stick around if you’re interested!


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